It Came from Within! - Notes from Andy Stanley's Series

I've been listening (for the 3rd time through) to a sermon series by Andy Stanley titled: It Came from Within. He has a book with this title as well.

I've been quite struck by his idea of filters.

Today I will introduce you to part 1 of my notes! More to come. Let me know what you think.

Being a Christian isn’t about learning to edit and filter your behavior but to monitor and guard your heart. Jesus says everything of life comes from your heart. It controls your relationships.

Harsh words and un-characteristic actions come from a condition of the heart.

We begin to learn behavior modifications very early – as children.

You do and don’t do certain things because of the consequences. We learn what to do and say so that life goes well and then something happens and we think, wow, where did that come from? We develop filters and monitor our behavior.

We’ve learned to apply filters according to the situation we’re in. Our filters become more and more sophisticated as a seasoned Christian. But sometimes, something breaks through your worn down filter.

Matthew 15:18-19 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

These things are evidence of what lurks there undiscovered until eventually, you get a hole in the filter and you say, “I don’t know where that come from!” It’s not enough to monitor and edit our behavior. We have to have a heart change.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

The heart. Not the organ that pumps blood through our veins, but that invisible, intangible place where we experience love, compassion, contempt, and jealousy.


We need to learn not just to “filter” our behavior but to monitor (deal with) our hearts.