Jeremiah 7:23
“But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.”
Introduction
Sometimes we don’t do what is right. Sometimes we have to go back and ask the Lord to forgive us. Sometimes I have to say, “God, You told me to go right and I went left—forgive me. You told me I should have made this phone call and I didn’t—forgive me.”
So we’re asking Him to create a clean heart in us and renew a right spirit, like David did. David acknowledged his sin and God heard him.
So remember: when God shifts a season, He first shifts the heart. When He shifts a season, He first shifts the heart.
So before God ever changes our situation, He changes the position of our heart. And before He shifts our position, He shifts our heart. That’s what happens to us. He talks to us first, and then we shift our position.
As we read with David, when David repented in his heart, his heart was shifted—so his position shifted before God.
And also, when you look at Abraham, Abraham had so many seasons in his life on this journey that the Lord told him to pack up and move. And he had a heart toward God, but listen—he made some mistakes. But thank God he turned his heart back to God so that he could be shifted and moved in the right direction.
So this consecration that we just came through is not about behavior first. It’s about alignment—an alignment. A shift season demands a heart shift—an alignment.
And Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart. Guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life. From the heart, the mouth speaks. So what comes out of your mouth was already in your heart. So guard your heart.
So what does a heart shift look like?
We are going to take the letters of the word “HEART” and we are going to address them today.
H — Hunger Shift
And what I’m talking about is shifting from routine to desperation. What you are accustomed to doing becomes so second nature that you wake up and do it without even thinking. To go from that to a desperation to please God, a desperation to do what God wants you to do—and I’m talking to myself also.
I have to push every morning to get up to be on prayer, because my preference is to be comfortable in my bed and sleep. But I’m desperate to hear from God through prayer.
So it says in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”. We are hungry, and we are thirsting for righteousness in this season.
Many of us want a shift, but we don’t want to be uncomfortable. My God—we want a change, but we don’t want to be uncomfortable.
God responds to hunger, not history. Not your past behaviors. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, I’ve been doing it for 30 years, this is the way I’m doing it.” God is not looking at your past history. He’s looking at whether you have a heart that is hungering toward Him.
So coming through this consecration stirs a fresh appetite for God. Hallelujah. I hope you can say that. It stirs a fresh appetite for God.
And this season is not about doing more. It’s about wanting God more—wanting God more.
Let me tell you something. The woman with the issue of blood—routine was: go to the doctor, go to the doctor, go to the doctor. Get help, get help, get help. But then one day she got so desperate that she got down on her hands and knees, crawled between dusty sandals to touch the hem of His garment. She got desperate. She was hungering for her healing.
Are you hungering for righteousness?So this is not about doing more. It’s about wanting God more.
E — Expectation Shift
Our hearts need to be shifted—expectation shift—from familiar to new. We’re getting out of what we’re comfortable with to what is new.
As we’ve heard before—Isaiah 43:19—“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?”
Past victories carry future battles. Because you had victories in the past, battles are coming, but you’re still going to win that battle. Hallelujah.
Expectation is the atmosphere where miracles happen.
So prepare your heart. Let your heart expect a miracle.
What you expect determines what you will receive. Pastor teaches that all the time. What you expect—what are you praying for? What did you pray for? Expect what you prayed for.
If we expect the same, we’re going to stay the same.
A — Alignment Shift
An alignment shift—from my will to God’s will. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” We want to agree with God’s will. So your will becomes God’s will. God doesn’t bless misalignment. How can He bless misalignment?
Come on—you know we talked about the cars and alignment. We just had our car aligned—the wheels and the tires. I learned so much about rotating tires and making sure they’re aligned, and that every now and then you need to shift them around so they can be aligned.
Well, every now and then you need to get before the face of the Lord and say, “Lord, align my heart. Align my will to Your will. I want to be in Your alignment.” A shifted heart says, “Lord, adjust me.” Your car needs adjusting, and it’s gonna make some noises. God is knocking on your heart. He’s been knocking on your heart before the 21 days of consecration and saying, “I’m here to adjust you.” So say that prayer: “Lord, adjust me.”
And this consecration that we came through is allowing God to rearrange our priorities. I know that’s what’s happening to me—to rearrange your priorities. Remember, we heard that there’s no such thing as time management, but priority management. Manage your priorities in Jesus’ name.
God doesn’t shift around us until He shifts something within us. You understand? Things around you won’t shift until He shifts what is happening inside the heart.
R — Repentant Shift
Repentance in your heart—from excusing sin to embracing surrender. Disobedience is sin. Don’t excuse it. “Oh, I was too tired.” “Oh, I worked so hard.” “Oh, this is what was happening.” “Oh, God, You know my heart.” Stop making excuses and embrace surrender.
Help me, Lord. Help me to manage my priorities better. Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me”. That’s the song we heard this morning. And repentance is not punishment. It’s preparation.
If you never wrote anything else down, remember this: repentance is not punishment—it’s preparation. A clean heart carries new oil. God is pouring out new oil on you in your life so that you can speak differently, act differently, walk differently—because a clean heart carries new oil.
You cannot carry new wine in an old heart. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Repentance is not turning away from God. Repentance is turning back to Him.
T — Trust Shift
This shift is not going to happen if we don’t trust the Lord God Almighty. Trust shift—from our own control to complete dependence. Help me, God. Many times I think I can do things my way. Many times I think I have the answer. But I want to be completely dependent on God.
Proverbs 3:5–6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart lean not to your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths”.
Shifts are uncomfortable because control is challenged. It’s uncomfortable because you do not want to give up control. Trust is saying to God, “God, I don’t need to understand. I just need to obey.” Sometimes He tells us some things to do and we don’t understand it, and we don’t want to, but if He has told you to do it—obey Him. Because obedience is better than sacrifice.
Every shift requires release. You have to release something.
Faith moves when trust replaces fear. You might have heard a bad report from the doctor. You might be — just like the woman with the issue of blood who went to many different doctors and never got her breakthrough. But it wasn’t until she touched Jesus. So faith will help you get to Jesus.
You want to touch Him? Reach out right now in the spirit realm and touch Jesus. Touch the Lord God Almighty through the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. The Holy Spirit is walking alongside you—so touch Him, because release is coming.
So in closing, Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart.” God is not just shifting Foundation Church—He’s shifting our hearts so we can carry what is coming.
A moment of heart examination is needed. Take a minute to examine your heart this day and the rest of this week, so you can move forward in faith with Jesus Christ as He shifts our hearts.