Real Change

 “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

Luke 6:12

• Jesus was out all night praying
• He had a place where he was alone with God and no one else would be
• Do I think of my relationship with God personal?

“First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.”

Acts 26:20

• A lot of times we think the things we say shows our repentance, but deeds demonstrate repentance to God.
• Do my actions reflect my repentance, or am I all talk?

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. ²⁰ Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”

Ezekiel 11:19-20

•  Change starts in the heart, and if your heart is hard, there is no possible way for us to change.
• God promises to give us an undivided heart, the Holy Spirit, and replace our hard hearts with a soft one.
• We will be able to live for God once all this happens and follow the Bible.
• What hardens your own heart?

“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; ³⁷ and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’;³⁸ and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; ³⁹ then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.”

2 Chronicles 6:36-39

• We all sin against God, and he won’t be able to forgive us unless we decide to take responsibility.
• Do you take responsibility for what you do? Or do you expect God to forgive you?
• There has to be a desire to have a change of heart and will to repent.

Practicals on Change:

1. Spend time with God, but work on making it a personal relationship. Talk to God like you would talk to your friends, find different places to go for quiet times, etc. Be creative!
2. Decide to live out repentance and not just voice it!
3. Take responsibility for your sins, so that God can soften your heart!