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How to Repent...Part 4

Repent by Getting Your

Heart to "Hear" Truth!

Use thanks and praise as power tools for change! Repent by aiming your thanks and praise at improving what your heart believes and loves most in terms of how you quench your thirst! 

Even though you may already be a Christian and God has given you a new heart, there are things your heart has learned that need to change. Learned habits of how you quench your thirst for God—apart from Him—have to be unlearned and replaced with something better.

The Bible talks about how some of us have, "...a heart trained in greed..." (2 Peter 2:14). This concept is important because it explains the process by which all of us came to drink by earthly means in the first place. Whether by greed, material possessions, or by lust, the ways we normally try to ‘drink’ are ways in which our heart has become trained.

The Bible talks about how some of us have "a heart trained in greed" (2 Pet. 2:14b). Greed is a way of trying to quench our thirst. Therefore, our heart has learned to depend on the sources we try to drink from. Our behavior, reactions, and pursuits are driven by the ways we have learned to try and quench our thirst.

We all are still learning. As long your earthly interests and earthly pursuits keep changing you can be sure that you are still learning new sources from which to "drink."

Because our heart is still learning new ways to "receive glory" by earthly means, our heart can be trained to turn and receive from God! The apostle Paul wrote that we should, "...train yourself to be godly" (1 Tim. 4:7 NIV).

The "changing your mind" part of repentance is about getting your heart to learn that you can turn to God and receive from Him. We have to get our heart to learn we can cease from trusting earthly sources as our best hope for filling our longings and desires. We have to get our heart to learn that the Holy Spirit is abundantly available to those who direct their heart toward Him.

The good news is that in a similar way to how we learned to quench our thirst by earthly means, we can train ourselves to turn from our earthly ways and toward the Lord. Everything starts with our thirst. After that, however, the process of coming into bondage, just like that of finding freedom, is the result of learning what to depend on in order to quench our thirsty desires.

Get Your Heart to Hear Truths that Help You Change!

You can dramatically affect your growth toward God. You aren’t helpless. Anytime you grow spiritually, anytime you take a turn for the worse, the essence of what brings about the changes good or bad is that the beliefs and loves of your heart have changed somehow. 

Getting your heart to hear the truth is what changes the beliefs and loves that drive your behavior, attitudes, and your reactions. Getting your heart to be more receptive so you can hear the truth is the essence of everything you have to do in order to direct your heart toward God.

Everything depends on getting your heart to hear the truth so as to change those beliefs and loves. If you want to affect your growth you have to change those beliefs and loves.

The Bible says, "...I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘Turn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to worship them...but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me" (Jer. 33:15). The solution our problem with idolatry has to do with getting the ears of our heart to hear! It the ears of our heart that need to hear because Jesus said,

"For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them" (Mat. 13:15).

Getting your heart to hear will change you from the inside out. Jesus said it enough times that we ought to listen.

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Matt. 11:15)

"He who has ears, let him hear." (Matt. 13:9)

"But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear." (Matt. 13:16)

"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matt. 13:43)

"And He was saying, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Mark 4:9)

"If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." (Mark 4:23)

Jesus also said, "hear the word of God and do it" (Luke 8:21b). We become doers of God’s word by focusing our effort on getting our heart to hear. He said further that, "...My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it" (Luke 8:21). Along the same line He said, "...everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matthew 7:24). Letting yourself hear the word of God is a wise thing to do because it helps you be able to live it.

You know you should, "repent and turn to God" (Acts 26:20). But are you afraid? It is by getting your heart to hear the truth that you can find freedom from the fears and disbelief that keep you from being able to do what God says.

Your receptivity to the truth is the most important factor in your being good ground for the word of God to grow in you. Remember again that the seed in Jesus’ parable is the word of God. We are the ground. We are also the farmer sowing the seed: "‘Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.’ As He said these things, He would call out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’" (Luke 8:8). The important thing to our Lord is that you let the ears of your heart hear. Later He said, "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance" (Luke 8:15). Hearing the word—and "holding" onto what you hear—is the number one factor that determines the extent of your impact for the kingdom of God.

Since you are the farmer in Jesus’ parable, you are the one who has to break up the hard ground of your heart. The Bible says, "Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you" (Hos. 10:12). You have to break up the hardness of your heart so that you become more receptive to believing you can turn and receive God’s presence. The verse above says you have to do that until God "comes to rain righteousness on you." Once your heart hears and you confidently trust grace, you won’t have to wait long at all. Another way of talking about softening your heart is this, "Circumcise yourselves to the Lord And remove the foreskins of your heart..." (Jer 4:4). Cut away what dulls your sensitivity toward God by training your heart so that you find it easier to hear and believe. Doing so will help you to enjoy God more.

Thoughts of needing to have faith tends to put pressure on most Christians. It does me too. Faith isn’t something you can achieve by "works." Trying to achieve a position of having faith only makes it harder. Think about it as cultivating faith—something you never stop doing. Cultivating faith is an important activity for any Christian. Paul rebuked the Galatian Christians by saying, "This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?" (Gal. 3:2). Paul explains in this section that we since we began by receiving the Holy Spirit by faith for salvation, we must continue on the same way after salvation. Later he says to them, "Christ redeemed us...so that, we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:13,14).We need God. We need to hear the truth that His presence is readily available to us. We have to keep getting our heart to hear truth because in doing so we build and maintain faith. We have to live by faith because we receive the Holy Spirit’s presence by faith (Gal. 3:5,14). It also says, "...he who comes to God must believe . . . that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). We have to trust that when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. You must cultivate faith so that you can believe confidently that when you draw near to God He will reward you with His presence—intensely and without His holding back. 

The difficulty is that for most of us, we don’t tend to believe the grace of God that easily—especially those of us who have been in the church for a while. Wrongly, we think things should always be the same as they always have been (Isa. 43: 18-21). We think we should have to deserve what we receive from God. The "works" mentality of the world has had a far deeper impact on us than we realize. We don’t trust grace because we think we should have to earn what we receive from God. This is why repentance is needed so desperately. But, we will never deserve the grace of God—if we did, it wouldn’t be grace anymore. The Bible says, "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4). Repenting will help you to believe. We have to live by faith because, "...the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God..." (Gal. 2:20).Please note that faith comes to us freely from God—the instant in time when we open our heart and hear truth. 

Our job is to get our heart to hear. God’s part is to give us faith; "...faith...is the gift of God;" (Eph. 2:8). For His part, God doesn’t hesitate like we do. You don’t have to worry about whether God will give you faith because, "...faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17). Concern yourself with getting your heart to hear. If you allow your heart to "hear" the word of our Lord, then God will give you faith—as much as you are able to receive. Our receptivity to hear is the determining factor. 

Let me say this again: You can affect your faith. But, your focus can’t be on faith directly. If you make that mistake you will be trying to achieve faith according to self-effort and works. Faith doesn’t work that way. Faith is something you have to rest into. Your focus has to be on improving your receptivity to the truth and on planting more of the word of God into your heart. You can get your heart to hear better. 

Always remember that God isn’t asking you to give up anything that He doesn’t intend to replace with something far better. The best way to change the sinful ways you quench your thirsty desires is to get your heart to hear that God offers something better. By doing this, you can find freedom to release your grip on our earthly dependencies, turn to God, and welcome His presence.

Audible Thanks and Praise are Power Tools

Thanks and praise for the truth can help your heart to hear. The Bible talks about, "...the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God" (2 Cor. 4:15). It also says, "...the truth of God abounded to His glory..." (Rom. 3:7). Even though both of these are only phrases used to express something else, the underlying principle still holds true.

Fear and learning don’t mix. Any good teacher knows that the emotional atmosphere greatly helps—or hinders—the learning process. By using thanks and praise you can create and atmosphere that helps to your heart to be more open to hearing the truth. 

If in your head you know a truth that could make you free then listen while you thank the Lord fervently for that truth. If in your mind you know a truth is worthy of your delight then thank the Lord audibly for the truth with a tone of delight in your voice—even though it may be uncomfortable at first. Thank Him with all the delight you can muster. The Bible says, "Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, [applauding you and shouting approval]...They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength..." (Psa. 89:15-17 NIV)

When it comes to nurturing delight toward God, it is best to thank God with an extreme amount of delight in your tone of voice. "Shouting approval" will help your heart to hear. Use your tone of voice to applaud God concerning each of His attributes. Acclaim Him for His provision that gives you access to draw near and receive His presence. This principle is powerful for getting your heart to hear.

Please note that your thanks and praise should be audible as often as possible. Jesus told us, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Mat. 11:15). The Bible also says, "...confess with your mouth...and believe in your heart..." (Rom. 10:9). Audible thanks and praise are directly related to believing in your heart. We have to thank God audibly for the truth because, "...faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Rom. 10:17).

Become a teacher and make your heart the student. Get your heart to learn by hearing what is true, good, right, best, and safe.

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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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