Latest / The Whole Hearted Woman / Season 2 Episode 8: What Does a Heart That Returns Look Like?

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Season 2 Episode 8: What Does a Heart That Returns Look Like? · The Whole Hearted Woman

0:02
SPEAKER_00: I have a good one to start off with.
0:05
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever known something was wrong and done it anyway?
0:08
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you said something you knew would hurt someone.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you reacted out of anger, resentment, or pride.
0:14
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you justified a decision because you felt you had a good reason.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe someone confronted you about something, and before you had time to consider whether they were right, you were already defending yourself.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: If I think we're willing to be honest, most of us can recognize ourselves somewhere in those moments.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: We know what Scripture says, we know what Jesus teaches, we know we're called to love, forgive, extend grace, and walk in humility.
0:41
SPEAKER_00: And yet sometimes when we're hurt, disappointed, afraid, or determined to have our own way, we respond from something very different.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: And here's a question I've been sitting with.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: What happens in our hearts when we know what's right, but something inside us wants something else?
0:59
SPEAKER_00: Or perhaps an even more important question: what do we do when God begins showing us something about ourselves that we'd rather not see?
1:09
SPEAKER_00: So today we're going to look at a man who knew God, loved God, and had experienced his extraordinary faithfulness, a man in Scripture described as a man after God's own heart.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: Can you guess?
1:21
SPEAKER_00: And yet, this same man committed terrible sins, tried to conceal what he had done, and needed God to confront him with the truth.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: His name was David, and his story raises a question that I believe is essential to living wholeheartedly.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: Are we willing to give God access to every part of our hearts, even the parts that need correction?
1:43
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Wholehearted Woman Podcast.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: I'm Chris Ray, and this is season two of the wholehearted life, learning to live from the heart formed by Jesus.
1:54
SPEAKER_00: Throughout this season, we've been exploring one central question.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: So how does a wholehearted woman live?
2:02
SPEAKER_00: Not somebody who has everything.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: Not somebody who never struck mistakes, mistakes.
3:00
SPEAKER_00: And I think there's something important for me to understand.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: Jesus doesn't only want access to the places where we've been hurt.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: He also wants access to the places where we need to be changed.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: I know this isn't a popular discussion, but let's go there.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: But before we go there, let's pray.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you that you know our hearts completely.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: You know the places where we've been wounded and the places where we've wandered.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: You know what we understand about ourselves and what we have yet to recognize.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, give us hearts that are willing to receive your truth.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: Help us not to be afraid of what you may reveal.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus, teach us to trust your love enough to bring you everything, not just the parts we're comfortable showing you, but the places where we need correction, where we need your forgiveness, and where we need your transforming work.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: Give us ears to hear and hearts willing to respond.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name, Amen.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: When we think about David, we often remember the young shepherd who defeated Goliath.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: We remember his courage, his worship, his psalms, his extraordinary relationship with God.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: David knew what it meant to depend upon the Lord.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: He had experienced God's protection, had witnessed God's faithfulness, and God had established him as king over Israel.
4:23
SPEAKER_00: But knowing God and having experienced his faithfulness didn't make David incapable of sin.
4:30
SPEAKER_00: And that's important for us because sometimes we can assume that spiritual maturity means we've moved beyond certain temptations.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: That because we've been walking with Jesus for years, we should automatically know how to respond to everything.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: That because we understand scripture, oh, we'll always choose what it teaches.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: But David's story reminds us that knowing what is right and choosing what is right aren't always the same thing.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: And that's where our story begins.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: In 2 Samuel 11, we're told it was a season when kings went out to battle.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: David sent Jacob and his army, but David remained in Jerusalem.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: One evening, David was walking on the roof of his palace when he saw a woman bathing.
5:14
SPEAKER_00: Her name was Bathsheba.
5:16
SPEAKER_00: David asked about her, and someone told him she was the wife of Uriah.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: David knew she was married.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: He also knew God's commandments.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: He knew adultery was wrong, and yet David sent messengers to bring Bathsheba to him and he slept with her.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: David was the king.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: He held tremendous power, and Bathsheba was in a very different position.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: Scripture doesn't give us grounds to assume she had the freedom to refuse him.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: The responsibility for what David did rests solely with David.
5:47
SPEAKER_00: And what follows is devastating.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: Bathsheba becomes pregnant.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: David attempts to conceal what happened.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: He brings Uriah home from battle, hoping Uriah will spend time with his wife, but Uriah refuses to enjoy the comforts of home while his fellow soldiers are still fighting.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: David tries again, and when his plan fails again, he arranges for Uriah to be placed in the fiercest fighting and abandoned.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: Uriah is killed.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: David then takes Bathsheba as his wife, and the chapter ends with these words.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: But we need to know, and what stands out in that is David's actions were far more serious than the ordinary moments of impatience, defensiveness, or selfishness we might recognize in our own lives.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: We shouldn't minimize what he did.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: He abused his authority, betrayed others, arranged a man's death, and attempted to conceal his wrongdoing.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: And there's more about the progression of his choice that we need to notice.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: David didn't lack knowledge of God's commandments.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: He knew the truth, but he chose not to let that truth govern his actions.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: And once he had made that first terrible choice, he began making other choices to protect it.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: And that raises a question about the human heart.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: What happens when something we want becomes more important to us than what we know is right?
7:14
SPEAKER_00: Now, we don't know everything David was thinking.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: Scripture doesn't tell us all the thoughts or desires that led him to act as he did, but we can see his choices.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes our choices can reveal something about what has been happening and governing in our hearts.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps we've experienced this in a smaller everyday way.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: You know you need to apologize, but you keep explaining why you reacted the way you did, or gritting your teeth and refusing to apologize.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: You know you've been holding resentment, but you tell yourself that the other person deserves it and you're still angry and still stewing.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: You know you're trying to control a situation, but you call it being responsible or just being loving and just being caring.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: You know you've spoken unkindly, but you justify it because you were tired, overwhelmed, or hurt, and things will pass and things will get back to normal.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: And that's where I want us to pause.
8:08
SPEAKER_00: Because one of the questions we've explored throughout The Wholehearted Woman is what happened in my heart that taught me to respond this way?
8:16
SPEAKER_00: And that's an important question, and one we need to keep in the forefront of our mind and practice thinking about it.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: Because our experiences shape us.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: Our wounds influence how we respond.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: In one of the previous episodes, we talked about how our wounds have a voice.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: We may have learned to become defensive because we were frequently criticized.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: We may have learned to control situations because life once felt very unpredictable and we didn't know what was going to happen next.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: We may have learned to protect ourselves because trusting others felt unsafe.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: Understanding those things matters because it's awareness to them that brings the first step to change.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: But I want us to keep another question in mind.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: Now that I recognize what's happening in my heart, am I willing to allow Jesus to change the way I respond?
9:06
SPEAKER_00: Because understanding why we developed a pattern doesn't mean we must continue living from it.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: And recognizing our wounds doesn't remove our responsibility for how we treat others.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: Healing helps us understand what has shaped us.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: Formation teaches us how to respond differently with Jesus.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: And that's what season two is all about.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: In Samuel 2.12, God sends the prophet Nathan to David, and Nathan doesn't begin by directly accusing him.
9:37
SPEAKER_00: He tells David a story.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: There were two men in a city.
9:41
SPEAKER_00: One was rich and had many sheep and cattle, the other was poor and had only one little lamb.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: This lamb was precious to him.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: He cared for it.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: It grew up with his family.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: But when a traveler came to visit the rich man, the rich man refused to take an animal from his own flock.
9:57
SPEAKER_00: So instead, he took the poor man's lamb.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: And David became furious.
10:02
SPEAKER_00: He recognized the injustice immediately.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: He condemned what the rich man had done.
10:07
SPEAKER_00: And then Nathan said, You are that man.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine that moment?
10:13
SPEAKER_00: David had just recognized wrongdoing in someone else's story.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: And now he was being confronted with his own.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: And I think there's something here that speaks to all of us.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's easier to recognize what's wrong in someone else's behavior than to acknowledge something similar in ourselves.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: We can see another person's pride, their selfishness, their dishonesty, their lack of boundaries, their lack of compassion, their need for control.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: But when God begins revealing something in our own hearts, you know, that feeling, that pinging, we may become uncomfortable, defensive, resistant.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: We may want to explain ourselves, and perhaps that's because the truth challenges the way we've come to see ourselves.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: We want to believe we're loving, patient, generous, forgiving, faithful.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: And when our behavior contradicts that picture, something inside of us may want to protect it.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: But here's what I want us to consider.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: What if receiving God's correction isn't a threat to who we're becoming, but an essential part of becoming who he's called us to be?
11:18
SPEAKER_00: Nathan's confrontation was serious.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: He named David's wrongdoing and announced the consequences that would follow.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: And David responded, I have sinned against the Lord.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: That's what scripture records.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: A brief confession, no explanation, no attempt to justify his actions in that recorded response.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: David acknowledged his sin.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: And I think that is where we need to distinguish between feeling sorry and genuine repentance, because we can feel sorry that something happened.
11:48
SPEAKER_00: We can feel sorry that someone is upsetting us or that we've been confronted.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: We can feel sorry about the consequences of our choices.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: But repentance goes deeper.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: Repentance involves acknowledging what we've done, turning away from what is wrong, and becoming willing to live differently.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: And genuine repentance takes responsibility for the harm we've caused.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: Nathan tells David that the Lord has put away his sin, but the consequences of David's actions do not simply disappear.
12:18
SPEAKER_00: And that's important.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: God's forgiveness does not make the suffering of others insignificant.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: And repentance doesn't mean we can avoid accountability.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes there are apologies to make, relationships that need to repair, trusts that must be rebuilt, consequences we must accept.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes reconciliation isn't possible or isn't safe for the person who was harmed.
12:45
SPEAKER_00: Repentance doesn't give us permission to demand forgiveness or restored access to someone else's life.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: But it does call us to walk in truth.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: And that begins in the heart.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: And we don't do it by beating ourselves up.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: And we can't change the past.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: But with true repentance in our heart, we can allow Jesus to show us the steps we need to take for reconciliation and to bridge what happened and to create a new promise and a new future and take what's broken and make something new.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: And that's beautiful.
13:17
SPEAKER_00: So now I want us to go to Psalm 51.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: The Psalm's heading connects it with Nathan's confrontation of David.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: And here we hear David's prayer of repentance.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: Behold, you delight in truth and the inward being.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: Truth in the inward being.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: I want you to think about that.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: Not just truth we can recite, not just truth we agree with, and not just truth that we say in church and think that everything is okay.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: No, not just truth we can recognize in someone else's life, but truth in the inward being, truth that reaches the heart, the truth that pierces and that we're willing to receive, truth we're willing to live from.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: And then David prays in verse 10, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: And I love that prayer because David isn't simply asking God to change his circumstances or forget what happened.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: He's asking God to change him.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: He isn't asking for another set of instructions.
14:21
SPEAKER_00: No, he's asking for a clean heart.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: And I think this is one of the most important discoveries in the entire episode.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: There's a difference between wanting God to remove the consequences of our choices and wanting him to change the heart from which those choices came.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: David needed more than another reminder of the commandments.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: He needed God's mercy, his cleansing, his renewal.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: And the punishment from God is so much different than the punishment from man and humans, and so do we.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: Think about this.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: David had God's commandments.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: He knew adultery was wrong.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: He knew murder was wrong.
15:00
SPEAKER_00: He had been given extraordinary responsibility as Israel's king.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: Yet knowing God's standards didn't prevent him from violating them.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: And this is the part of the largest story Scripture tells us about the human heart that goes throughout Scripture.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: In Romans 7, Paul describes the law as holy, righteous, and good.
15:21
SPEAKER_00: But the problem wasn't that God's commandments were defective.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: No, the problem was sin.
15:27
SPEAKER_00: The law could reveal what was right, it could expose what was wrong.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: But knowing the truth could not by itself transform the desires of the human heart.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: And that's where the law fell short.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: And this is why God's promise in Ezekiel 36 is so beautiful.
15:46
SPEAKER_00: God says he will give his people a new heart and put a new spirit within them.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: He promises to put his spirit within them and cause them to walk in his ways.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: And through Jesus, we're invited into the life of the new covenant, a life in which the Holy Spirit works within us, forming our hearts and teaching us to walk in obedience.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: And that means that we accept and we listen and we take part in that little nudge in our heart that we did something wrong.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: And we respect that nudge and we listen and we respect it and we're obedient and we do what we're supposed to do.
16:23
SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't mean we become incapable of sin.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean we no longer struggle.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: It means we're not left to change ourselves through determination alone.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: We can go to the cross.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't merely tell us how to live.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: Through his spirit, he works within us to transform the way we live.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: And that brings us right back to the wholehearted woman.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Because the goal isn't simply to understand why we do what we do.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: It isn't merely to become better at managing our behavior.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: There's something I want to say to the woman listening today.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: You may have spent years asking Jesus to heal the places where you've been wounded, and that's so important.
17:00
SPEAKER_00: Those places matter to him.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: Your pain matters, your experiences matter, the things that shaped how you see yourself, other people, and God matter.
17:09
SPEAKER_00: But I wonder whether there's another invitation here.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: Are we willing to let Jesus show us the places we need to change?
17:17
SPEAKER_00: Not just where someone else hurts, but where we hurt someone.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: Not just where we've been misunderstood, but where we've misunderstood others.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: Not just where someone failed to love us, but where we have failed to love.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: Not just the patterns that have caused us pain, but the patterns that may be causing pain to people around us.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: And that's not an invitation to condemn ourselves, not at all.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: We don't wallow in shame.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: It's an invitation that's open all the time from Jesus to honesty, repentance, and transformation.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: Jesus calls us to repentance because sin is real and because his mercy opens the way for us to turn to God.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: And the Holy Spirit continues working within us, praise God.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes he comforts us.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes he exposes something.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes he challenges an attitude.
18:10
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes he brings scripture to mind.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes he uses another person to help us recognize what we've been unwilling and or unable to see.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: And the question becomes, will I remain open to him?
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Because a wholehearted woman isn't someone who has nothing left to repent of.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: No, she's someone who is learning not to hide from God when he reveals what needs to change.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: And I want to return to Nathan for just a moment.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: David recognized the injustice in Nathan's story, but when Nathan said, You are the man, David had to confront something about himself.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where this becomes very personal.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we have an idea of who we are.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: And when we think of ourselves, we think, well, I'm a loving person, I'm a patient person, I'm generous, I'm someone who always tries to do everything right.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: And perhaps those things are genuinely true.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: But what happens when God shows us a response that doesn't reflect those qualities?
19:08
SPEAKER_00: If we're honest, we can ask, what happens when we recognize that we were unkind or controlling or dishonest or had a moment of impatience and reacted from that, or unwilling to forgive?
19:20
SPEAKER_00: Do we defend the image we have of ourselves?
19:23
SPEAKER_00: Or do we become willing to say, Jesus, show me what's happening in my heart?
19:29
SPEAKER_00: Because our goal isn't to protect an image of ourselves, it's to become increasingly like him.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: And that requires humility.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: It requires honesty, and it requires trusting that God's mercy is sufficient for the truth he reveals.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: And there's another part of David I would love to bring into this conversation.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 139, 23 to 24.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: You've heard it before, but it fits in this so well.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: Search me, O God, and know my heart.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way to everlasting.
20:04
SPEAKER_00: What a prayer! Search me, know my heart, see what's there and lead me, not simply God show me what's wrong with everybody else, not God help other people understand me more, but God search me and notice where the prayer ends.
20:21
SPEAKER_00: Lead me in the way everlasting.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: The purpose is an endless self-examination.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: It's allowing God to lead us, and that's such an important distinction.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: We don't need to become consumed with finding everything wrong within ourselves.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: We need to remain open to the Holy Spirit, who knows us completely and is faithful to guide us in truth.
20:45
SPEAKER_00: And when he reveals something, we can respond.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: We can confess, we can repent, we can make things right where possible, and we can ask him to continue changing us.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: And that's what a responsive heart looks like.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: So let's come back to the question we began with.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: What does a heart that returns look like?
21:05
SPEAKER_00: I don't think it's a heart that never wanders or struggles, and I certainly don't think it's a heart that has achieved perfection.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: I think it's a heart that is becoming increasingly willing to live in the light.
21:18
SPEAKER_00: A heart that doesn't need to defend every choice, a heart that is willing to receive correction, a heart that takes responsibility, a heart that asks for forgiveness, a heart that desires to change.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: And most importantly, a heart that continues turning toward Jesus rather than hiding or running from him.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: Because we can know scripture and attend church and we can serve and we can pray and we can have years of experience walking with God, and everything can seem rosy, but we can still have places in our hearts that need his transforming work.
21:52
SPEAKER_00: And that's not a reason to despair, and that's not a judgment.
21:55
SPEAKER_00: It's a reason to remain dependent upon him forever.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Healing is not a failure of faith.
22:02
SPEAKER_00: And recognizing our need for repentance is not the end of our relationship with God.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: It can become the beginning of a deeper surrender.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I'd love for you to do this week.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: Because no self-help Christianity or psychology can ever heal you the way Jesus can heal you.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: Find a quiet place with Jesus.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: And rather than beginning with everything that's happening around you, invite him to show you what's happening within you.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: You might begin with David's prayer.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: Search me, O God, know my heart.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: Then sit with a few questions.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: Lord, is there something I've been defending that I need to acknowledge?
22:39
SPEAKER_00: Is there something, a response, a pattern that you want to show me that keeps showing up in my relationships?
22:46
SPEAKER_00: Is there someone I've hurt or something I need to make right?
22:50
SPEAKER_00: Is there a truth I know but I have been reluctant to live?
22:54
SPEAKER_00: Is there something in me that you want me to change?
22:57
SPEAKER_00: Show it to me, Lord.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: What am I afraid God might show me if I give him access to this part of my heart?
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: Don't rush to make up an answer.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: And don't turn this into an exercise of self-condemnation or self-scrutiny.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: Just simply come honestly before him.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: If something specific comes to mind, bring it into the light.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: Confess what needs confessing.
23:19
SPEAKER_00: Wait for him.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: Let him tell you what needs to be done.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: Search his word and find it.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: Take responsibility where responsibility is yours and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the next faithful step.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: Maybe that step is an apology or a changing of behavior, receiving one's counsel.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's finally acknowledging something you've been avoiding.
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SPEAKER_00: And maybe it's simply beginning with the prayer, Jesus, I want you to have my whole heart.
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SPEAKER_00: Even the places I've been afraid to give you.
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SPEAKER_00: And if you don't get an answer right away, don't worry about it.
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SPEAKER_00: Just keep showing up.
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SPEAKER_00: Keep showing him.
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SPEAKER_00: Keep telling him he's faithful.
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SPEAKER_00: So I want to close in prayer.
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SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you that you are faithful and merciful.
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SPEAKER_00: Thank you that you know us completely.
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SPEAKER_00: We can't hide from you.
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SPEAKER_00: You know our wounds, our fears, our desires, our weaknesses, and our sins.
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SPEAKER_00: And you have not called us to hide from you or to feel ashamed.
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SPEAKER_00: Jesus, forgive us for the times we've knowingly set aside your truth, and forgive us for the ways we've justified what we knew was wrong.
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SPEAKER_00: Forgive us for the times we've defended ourselves rather than listening.
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SPEAKER_00: And Holy Spirit, continue your work within us, your masterpiece work.
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SPEAKER_00: Give us hearts that are tender toward your voice, hearts that are willing to receive correction, hearts that are quick to acknowledge the truth, hearts that are humble enough to repent, and hearts that desire to live in ways that honor you.
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SPEAKER_00: Show us where we need to take responsibility if there is.
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SPEAKER_00: Give us courage to make things right where we can and continue transforming our desires and our attitudes and our choices and our responses.
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SPEAKER_00: And like David, we pray, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
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SPEAKER_00: We don't want to give you only the parts of our hearts that need comfort or to be told wonderful things.
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SPEAKER_00: We want to give you everything because we trust you with our whole hearts.
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SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name.
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SPEAKER_00: Amen.
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SPEAKER_00: Maybe today Jesus is inviting you to see something about yourself that you haven't wanted to acknowledge.
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SPEAKER_00: Don't be afraid to bring it to him.
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SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's something you need to confess, something you need to release or make right, or perhaps there's a pattern you've understood for a long time, but you're finally ready to allow Jesus to change.
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SPEAKER_00: A wholehearted life isn't a life without the need for repentance.
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SPEAKER_00: It's a life of continuing to return to the one who makes us whole and where it's impossible.
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SPEAKER_00: And I want to leave you with this.
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SPEAKER_00: Jesus doesn't only want to heal the places where you've been hurt, he wants to transform the places where you learn to live apart from his truth.
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SPEAKER_00: And that is true transformation.
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SPEAKER_00: So today, give him your whole heart, not just the parts that are hurting, and not the parts that you're proud of.
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SPEAKER_00: And remember, you are sane, you are deeply loved, and the shepherd is still speaking.
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SPEAKER_00: See you next time.