Tending Your Heart

adapted from a resource from Antioch Community Church, Waco, Texas

Inner Healing

From Fruit to Root Why We Actually Sin

Our intimacy with God is the foundation and life source for everything we are—everything we think and do. It is for this reason, the enemy targets our growing relationship with God. The primary way he does this is with lies. Satan wants to get us questioning the character of God, and our value and identity as His children, because if we embrace lies in these areas, he believes he can derail us from the abundant life God has for us—even take us out from that very relationship itself. 

When the enemy whispers a lie in our ear, we do have a choice—we can rebuke the lie and choose not to partner with it or we can allow it to take root in us, at which point it becomes an ungodly belief. If we do not turn to Jesus and let Him meet our needs in this world, and if we do not let Him shape our minds and hearts, we will fill our hearts with something else. 

Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be troubled...”  (John 14:1)

These lies, these ungodly beliefs, drive our negative thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors. In fact, for every negative feeling or emotion, there is a corresponding ungodly belief, or lie, behind it. Therefore, we must constantly be vigilant of the thoughts and beliefs we allow to enter our belief system. We also need to take inventory of what we are already embracing. Does it truly align with what the Bible says? Recognizing the lies we believe is a big part of our healing and restoration. 

It is for this reason, that we must walk in true intimacy with God based on His truths. Therefore, we must learn to overcome the enemy's lies. These 5 R's are key steps for identifying and renouncing the lies of the enemy, and embracing the truths that only come from God. 

“Watch over [guard] your heart with all diligence for out of it flow the springs of life.” (Prov. 4:23) 

5 R's of Tending the Heart 

Recognize > Repent > Renounce > Receive > Rejoice

1. Recognize

I recognize the negative feeling or emotion of... in [this particular situation]...  Father, what is this negative feeling or emotion really about?  What lie (ungodly belief) is behind it?

Be attentive to your heart and take note of  disappointment, discouragement, fear, loneliness, worry, anxiety, lust, anger, hatred, or anything that moves you out of peace and rest throughout the day. These are clues that something is off because God is not the master of these—Satan is. 

When we are moved from that place of security and rest in God, we must turn our minds and hearts to God and ask (aloud if possible): “Father, what is this negative feeling or emotion really about?” Listen and don’t discount what you receive from God. God may reveal: sin you need to repent of, a lie you are believing, someone you need to forgive, or a spirit you have given access to. 

Honestly and humbly admit any lie or action you need to take. This step of recognizing is all about honestly facing and, later, confessing your sin. Confession is the acknowledgement and/or disclosure of sin or sinfulness. Therefore, to recognize is to bring out into the open what was once hidden from us. It is about bringing your sin into the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to expose it for what it is. (Repent, forgive, and bless others, where necessary, will be upcoming steps).

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." - Psalm 139:23-24 NLT

"So often, when people are led to confess their sins, they only confess their sinful behaviors [sins in your behavior]. in other words they confess the [bad] fruit... The problem, however, is that they need to confess their sinful beliefs—the roots, the stuff below the surface that is motivating and producing their behaviors, the sin beneath their sins [sin in the heart]. 

All sin stems from our unbelief in Jesus. And because we generally don't go beyond the fruit to the root, we end up aiming at behavior modification instead of Gospel transformation... When we address only the behaviors and push [ourselves] to change what [we] do without a change in what [we] believe, the weight falls on us [on ourselves and our own efforts] rather than God to handle the problems of the world and heal the brokenness caused by sin... [What God wants is to deal with our root sin, the sin in our heart.] God convicts us of our unbelief and leads us to believe the truth."  - Jeff Vanderstelt, Gospel Fluency

see the webpage on From Fruit to Root for more on this (and for an example of a sin, the fruit, walked back into the root, or the unbelief behind it)

2. Repent

I confess my sin of believing the lie that...  Forgive me Lord, for...  |  I forgive the following people who have contributed to my forming this ungodly belief...

We repent for any past sins, leading up to the present.

Repent for partnering with the enemy in giving that lie authority over your life. Ask for forgiveness for any sin He reveals. This may include any sinful reaction to your wound by self-protection, denial, choosing as a replacement self-comfort/pleasure, etc. over the need to deal head on with the real problem of having believed a lie. It may also include forgiving others who have hurt you in the past. 


"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord..." - Acts 3:19 NIV

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength..." - Isaiah 30:15 NIV

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." - 2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV

"Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much." - James 5:16 MEV

"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." - 1 John 1:9 NIV

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." - Colossians 3:13 NIV

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." - Ephesians 4:32 NIV

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." - Psalm 103:8-12 NIV

3. Renounce

I renounce the lie that...   I break agreement with...

We renounce any present to future actions that would be sinful. We are in fact agreeing to not participate with the sinful tendencies of the heart. It is a conscious decision to not keep practicing what we used to in the past. Conscious decisions, with the Lord's help, have more intentionally to avoid those things that lead to sin, and instead choose other things, embrace them, that lead to holy living. It is a choice to not be ignorant, naive, passive or careless about what is a true struggle.  A true struggle requires a true fight, not a dismissive approach.

A next step is to renounce the lie over your life (aloud if possible) and break off any partnership with the enemy. It is putting your foot down and saying no longer will I choose to keep doing this sin or choosing into this way of thinking. And don't forget to claim God's power, through the Holy Spirit, to help you to change in this area, so that you do not continue believing this lie and acting from it, from here on. 


"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." - James 4:7 NIV

"So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly... choose today whom you will serve... But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:14-15 NLT 

 "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." - Philippians 2:13 NLT

4. Receive

I choose to accept, believe, and receive the truth that...

An empty heart invites attack. It is not enough to renounce and repent over the lies we believe. We need to fill that empty void with His living truth as revealed in His Word, through the Spirit of God! Ask the Father what truths He has for your heart, in exchange. If possible, journal them. Let them sink into and fill your heart by regularly reminding yourself of His truth and then thanking Him for it.  


“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.” - Matthew 12:43-45 NLT

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." - Romans 10:17 ESV

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." - Mark 11:24 NIV

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." - John `16:24 NIV

"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." - 2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV

"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:32 NIV

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." - 2 Peter 1:3 NIV

5. Rejoice

Thank you Jesus for... 

Rejoice in what truth He has given you in exchange for the lie (aloud if possible)! Declare it over your life. Thank Him and worship Him for it!


"...the joy of the Lord is your strength." - Nehemiah 8:10b NIV

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." - Romans 8:1-2 NIV 

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." - Philippians 4:8 NIV