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“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Do you have some things you need to change in your life? First, you have to change how you think (repent) before anything else changes. You can try as hard as you can to develop new habits, eat better, exercise, lay down sin, whatever it may be, but if you don’t change the way you think, you will end up back in the same patterns.
Your thoughts are a product of your beliefs. If you want to be more fit, quit drinking, overcome disease or make more money, you have to see yourself as a person that lives a healthy lifestyle, doesn’t drink, and makes a good income. If you don’t do the work first to change your self-image in your heart, you will settle back into your old self-image after you are tired of putting forth the effort to change your habits.
Did you know that your energy level and your feelings throughout the day are directly connected to how you see yourself? Of course, there are other factors, but what you believe about yourself will override tiredness, depression, and temptation. The self-image written on your heart will drive those deeper desires, despite how hard you work to build new habits.
The Word Is The Source Of Repentance
Let me make a statement for clarity sake. When we are saved there is a repentance from sin. The word “repent” means to have a change in your way of thinking with a turning away from sin. Most Christians think repenting is when you go to God to apologize for sinning, but it’s so much more. True repentance is not only when you change your behavior, it’s when you experience an even deeper change, a change in your thought patterns and desires. I am speaking of repentance in this article from the definition of “changing the way you think.”
If you want to change and adopt a repentant lifestyle, you must go to the Word of God as the source of your identity. First, it will tell you who you are in Christ. Then, the Holy Spirit will confirm it in your heart, and then you will have a new perspective to believe you can change. What follows next is your willingness to act on the grace that will arise in this new way of thinking.
The Word of God is what you use to adopt a new self-image that will drive your subconscious decisions. It shows us who God is as revealed in Christ, but also our very identity. Therefore, we must use it to renew our minds in a profound way that transcends behavior.
The Word of God is helpful for every area of life. But you have to do more with it that just read it or think about it, you must believe it. You must treasure it in your mind and your heart above anything else. The Word of God is not just a moral code or instruction, it is life, life for every aspect of our being.
I want to challenge you to identify an area of your life you want to change, maybe an area you’ve tried to change before. Then use a topical Bible study tool to find several passages related to that area. Finally, write down several passages in the first person, and use those phrases as a mental fitness and mind renewal exercise.
True repentance is when you hold the Word of God in your heart until it changes your self-image, desires, and choices.
As you treasure the Word, it will shape how you obey and follow God, which will bring you into life in a whole new way, that is more consistent with how God is leading you.
Just like you take a walk every day, just like you eat everyday, just like whatever daily routines you have - read through those phrases with the intention of believing them and seeing yourself in that new way.
You’re reprogramming how you think, which is the very definition of repentance. You’re reprogramming how you think, according to the Word of God. Then, that Word planted in your mind and heart will take root and begin to produce transformation.
It will most likely not be overnight, but it will work and produce transformation if you treasure it above anything else in your mind or heart. Make every thought obey the truth of the Word you are planting in your heart.
It might feel like an uphill battle, but you must exercise the muscles of your heart and mind to build a new body/image inwardly, and it will be reflected outwardly by the power of the Word.
I hope you watch this entire sermon, and I pray it is helpful for you. Let me know how it impacted you in the comments below.
Clint and Sara Byars - Forward Ministries
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