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I consider this 5 part section about how to repent better as some of the most important information on this site.

Repentance—at the depth that God desires—isn’t practical or even possible without turning so as to actually drink from the Lord. It isn’t practical or possible to repent without receiving from God because your unquenched thirsty desires will just keep turning you back around toward the world.

Therefore, it is important to understand the process of getting your heart to hear in the context of quenching your thirsty desires with God. You have to see it that way so that you thirst for God can help you in repentance. That way, your thirst will pull you along toward the Lord.

Don’t miss this: helping your heart to hear applies many of the principles that are already happening each time you "drink" by earthly means. As you read this chapter, you will need to think of it this way or you won’t be able to understand what I am saying. You might understand it with you mind, but certainly not with your heart.

Soften your heart by making a conscious choice to hear and believe what you are thanking and praising God about. Make it your habit to listen yourself.

The Bible tells us,

"My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life" (Pro. 4:20-23).

The Bible also says; "Moreover, He said to me, ‘Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely’" (Eze. 3:10). When you are thanking God for some truth about Him or yourself—listen to what you are saying!

Increase your motivation to listen by thanking God you can change by listening better. Don’t think that because this one is short it isn’t important. Committing yourself to listen to your thanks and praise is a vital part of how you can remove the obstacles and turn to God; "...take care how you listen..." (Luke 8:18).

Make a conscious choice to pay attention to your thanks and praise for the truth. As soon as you are able, you need to make a decision and commitment that, "I will get my heart to hear and rejoice in the truth about quenching my thirst with God."

The Bible talks about, "...building yourselves up on your most holy faith..." (Jude 1:20). One important way you should be applying this scripture is to speak the truth out loud—for the purpose of building your faith and trust toward God. It also says we should,

"...assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;" (1 John 3:19-21)

Observe the ways you are feeling condemned and reassure your heart with truth. Reassure your heart with the truth whenever your heart is insecure about drawing near to God for whatever reason. Soothe yourself with the truth about being about to turn to God.

Learn to take note of the emotions you are feeling and use those feelings as clues about how to reassure your heart. Reassure your heart with the truth whenever your heart is insecure about drawing near to God for whatever reason. Thank the Lord that you don’t have to wallow in shame and condemnation because His love for you is personal and real. Thank Him that you don’t have to shrink away because of disbelief—you can reassure your heart. If it is doubt about God’s goodness or His love, be honest with yourself about how you feel. But don’t stop there! Gather verses of scripture and begin feeding yourself the truth. If you feel dirty, thank the Lord that His power to cleanse you is greater than your sin.

You too should say, "as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge" (Ps. 73:28). Follow the pattern in the scriptures: "The Lord is our righteousness" (Jer. 33:16). Get your heart to hear that it is right and safe for you to trust His grace to draw near so you because by that, you can find refuge inside His presence.

The principle of reassuring your heart with the truth is so important that it may be second only to that of getting your heart to hear. Many of the other principles that help your heart to "hear" can and should be applied in the context of reassuring your heart more effectively.

Make it easier on yourself to repent and turn to God. Reassure your heart that it is safer and there is more security in finding refuge in God than by other means. Many of us struggle and don’t move forward in our relationship with God because we think we have to give up control. Control is not the issue. We need to feel secure. Don’t focus directly on trying to force yourself to give up control! Instead, focus on making God your security.

Trusting God as your security is better—even when bad things happen. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to worship an idol. They would not. To this the king told them, "...if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" (Dan. 13:15). Their response was beautiful.

"Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (Dan. 3:16).

Drawing near to God and trusting His nearness as your security is better—even if God does not deliver you. It is better because His presence is sweeter, more readily available, and far more soothing than anything else you could trust. It also says,

"Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places." (Hab. 3:17-19)

Even if bad things happen, drawing near to God and hiding yourself in Him is a far greater reason to feel safer be confident.

When the closeness of God’s presence becomes your security, you will find freedom to move forward in your relationship with Him. Make it your strong intention to ease your fears by reassuring your heart that is safer and far better for you to turn and "drink" from God than to put your faith in .

Our heart learns best through emotional reactions to thoughts and our experiences in life—sometimes what we learn is good, sometimes it is bad. Get your heart to hear the truth by thanking the Lord with great joy in your tone of voice.

By using joy in your thanks and praise, you can create an atmosphere that helps to your heart to be much more open to hearing the truth. Emotion is a powerful tool for helping your heart to learn where you can best quench your thirsty desires.

Use your tone of voice to move the truth from your head to your heart. As long as you know a scriptural truth in your mind you can thank Him with great delight in your tone of voice. If you know it to be true in your head—thank God for it—even though your heart may be hard, disbelieving, and afraid.

Delight yourself into believing that God’s presence is a better refuge and strength, more fulfilling, and more readily available than any earthly glory you could find. Your behavior will follow the beliefs and loves of your heart.

Get your heart to hear and turn to God by observing the intensity of emotion associated with doing the wrong thing and then reapplying an even greater intensity in your voice as you thank the Lord.

The Bible also says, "Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies..." Deut. 28:47,48). Nurturing joy and gladness toward God will help keep you from bondage to the enemies that have been your downfall.

The Bible says, "...in humility receive the word..." (James 1:21).

Adopting an attitude of humility is vital for increasing your receptivity so that you can hear better.

The Bible also tells us, "...listen obediently...love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul" (Deut. 11:13). Humble yourself into being a doer of the word by listening obediently to truth that would give you reason to love God more.

When you "listen obediently" and you "receive the word" in humility it feels like you are giving up the fight to protect yourself by being in control. Suddenly you understand what is best, you stop fighting, and relax inside. Other times it feels like something is dying inside. It is, but that is what "dying to self" is all about. The price is worth it.

Thank the Lord that you can listen and receive the truth without having to protect yourself. What God offers is abundantly available to you and it is so much better. Pride from self-protection only hardens you.

Make it your intension to receive what you are thanking God about deep down into your heart. Receive the word with an attitude of humility and softness toward the truth.

Your love for the truth is your capacity for growth toward God.

The Bible says, "...they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved" (2 Thess. 2:10). Even though this verse is about salvation the principle also applies to growing in Christ. The Bible also says, "...a man must examine himself" (1 Cor. 11:28).

The payback is too great to avoid honest evaluation. Don’t be afraid to dig deep.

"Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built." (Luke 6:47,48)

But, digging deep and being honest with God is not a basis for being down on yourself—not even a little. It does not mean you are to throw yourself in to a constant mode of being discouraged! Doing so is not your best hope for correcting the problem. Being unbending in your honesty about yourself is reason for great joy—it is not reason to punish yourself or hide yourself in despair.

Be very clear about this: your righteousness is because of what God has done in you—and not because of what you do or don’t do.

Remember that because Christ lives in you, you are the righteousness of God—on the inside (2 Cor. 5:18). The outside of you is a different story. Your "flesh" didn’t get saved when you accepted Christ as your savior. That is why your body needs a continual washing from God. You can hear the honest truth about the weakness of your humanity because the cleansing of God—for your body—is so readily available to you (Heb. 10:19,22).

That is why you can admit—without hesitation and without putting yourself down—where you might be quenching your thirst by earthly means. If you are having trouble admitting to yourself where you might be drinking by earthly means, it is likely because you are trusting your human righteousness to justifies your standing before God.

Since your righteousness is because of God, the sin of your heart does not devalue you before God. You may be "dirty" for the moment. But, your sin—even newly discovered sin of the heart—is evidence of your continuing need to be washed in the presence of God. You are not alone. We all need that.

The truth about God and about yourself has to become a delight to you. It will help your heart to hear better if you use thanks and praise to nurture a greater love for the truth. Make the truth—even the ugly truth about yourself—a springboard for directing your heart toward God. Receive what is true with humility—but turn your heart away from trying to improve yourself by condemnation.

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I am praying for the Lord's abundant blessing on your efforts to direct your heart toward Him.

Barry.

  How to Repent — Continued...

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(C) Barry Hall 1999

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