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Welcome to Faith Builders with Michelle Steele. I'm so excited to have this opportunity to connect with you today. We are going to grow in faith. We are going to strengthen ourselves in the Word of God. What we have in store today is going to begin a new series called the Established Heart. Every one of us have the responsibility to establish our hearts on the Word of God. We have so much potential available to us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We enter into covenant with God. We become members of the family of God. We're washed in the blood. We're redeemed from the curse. We are set free from the life of sin that we lived before Christ. And now we have this new life, this eternal life available to us. But there are some things that we need to put into place. We've got to take the word and establish our lives on the word of God. You know, a lot of people will hear my testimony, and many of you are familiar with my testimony, how God set me free from a life of addiction. I spent uh years uh putting needles in my arms, addicted to drugs, living a life of crime, going to jail, almost went to prison for 10 years. God rescued me. But when he rescued me, he established me. It wasn't overnight. It took time. It took time in his word, time uh setting aside those things that I believed before, laying aside those ways I responded to situations before, and learning how to live the new life that he's made available to me. And so many people will hear my testimony and they'll say, Michelle, you don't look like what you've been through. And that's because the word, the word of God has rebuilt my life. I, you know, there's a used to be a commercial that said, built built for tough, but I'm built word tough is what I am. I'm built by the word is what what you see is not what Michelle built, but what the word built. And so I had to learn how to get into the word of God and to um renew my mind with the word, yes, but to also establish the word in my heart so that it became this the foundation, the structure for my life. And so this series, we have a study guide that goes with it. This is the Spanish, el corazón establecido. Uh, we have it in English and in Spanish because we've done this broadcast in both. Um, so this is a 12-part series, and so all of the lessons, all of the notes, all of the um uh specific translations that we use in here, and then we also have it on a flash drive audio. You can go to our website and watch it for free by uh uh connecting to our YouTube channel. We just want you to get it, we want you to establish your heart in this truth and not just let it be something you hear one time and it goes in this ear and comes out the other. But we want you to have it as a structure for your life. And so today I want to start with a question that we find in Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, verse 1, and I'm gonna read from the amplified. It says, Who has believed, trusted in, relied upon, and clung to our message of that which was revealed to us? Who has believed? The King James says, Who has believed our report? Who has believed our report? But that's not the only question in this verse, because the the second question says, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been disclosed? And the King James says, revealed. Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed or disclosed? Who gets to see God's power? The arm of the Lord that refers to God's power. Who has believed our report, and to who to whom is the arm of the Lord, the power of God revealed or made manifest? And the two questions are connected. Because the person who believes is the person who sees the manifestation of God's power. The person who doesn't believe doesn't always see the power of God unless somebody else is believing and bringing the power into activation, into manifestation, but bringing the power of God on the scene. There are rooms that have more electrical outlets. And that we need places in our life, we need every every part of our life wired for power, wired for the power of God to come to it. You know, if you go into a room and and maybe it was a closet and a big closet, there's probably not an electrical outlet in the closet. Why? Because they didn't see any reason to have power wired to that part of the building, the closet. Uh, but we don't want any aspect of our life that is not wired for the power of God. And so that's why we've got to establish our heart. We don't want to have power for our future beyond this life and say, well, I know I'm gonna go to heaven. I know I'm gonna, I'm, I know I'm saved. I'm forget I'm going to heaven, but then not have power for our marriage or power for raising our children. We want every every part wired for power. And how do we wire our life for power? We believe. And so we've got to establish the word to make that happen. We've got to get the word in that specific area of our life. For instance, there was a a time uh when Jesus healed, and they they said, wait, wait, wait, wait. We we believe that he has uh power to heal, but we don't have the power, believe he has the power to forgive sins. Because he had said to the man who got healed, rise, take up your bed uh and and be forgiven of your sins. And they said, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, we don't believe you can do that, both of those things. We believe that you have the power to heal him, but we don't believe you have the power to forgive his sins. And you know, a lot of times people are the opposite today. That, well, I believe now he can forgive me of my sin. I believe that I'm gonna go to heaven. I believe I'm I'm right with God where that's concerned, but I don't believe God heals anymore. Why? Because they haven't wired that part of their life with the power of God's word. They haven't established in their heart that Jesus, the same, yesterday, today, and forever, still heals, that by his stripes, that he was wounded, surely. He was wounded for my transgressions, he was bruised for my iniquities, and by his stripes we were healed. That takes the establishing of the word in that aspect of our life, to affirm the truth of God's word in the heart requires that we spend time in the word so that it goes beyond just the level of hearing and thinking about it, but that it becomes reality to us, a spiritual reality. And so um we have a responsibility in that area, then don't we? We have a responsibility to establish our hearts because what we believe determines what we can receive from God. A lot of times people are really um putting it off as if they're waiting on God to do something. God, you know, whenever if God wants to heal me, he will. Well, he wants to, and that's why he put it in the covenant. And it's by his grace, and so his grace has made it available. And so his grace, one great example of grace is God's hands filled with his provision. And he's he's he's reaching those hands out, he's stretching those hands out to us. They're they're filled with the help that we need, the wisdom that we need, the provision for healing, the provision for our finances, the provision for our marriage, our family, our salvation. Everything is in there, and he's made it available. And he's stretching for us to reach out and take it. But the Bible says in Romans that in Romans chapter uh four, that it's it's by his grace, but it's also on our part, it's by faith. So, so yes, God's made it available, but it's not automatically gonna happen if you don't believe. If you don't believe that, and so that's why he put it in his word, he put faith in his word so that you can hear the word, and by the hearing of the word, you can strengthen your faith, you can build your faith, you can grow your faith. The Bible says faith grows exceedingly. Glory to God. How does that happen? Well, I've got to get in the word, and I've got to let the word of God take precedent over um Facebook and uh Instagram and TikTok and whatever else has your attention. You've got to give your attention to the word. You've got to give your attention to the word more than the headlines. You've got to give your attention to the truth of God's word more than your symptoms, more than your feelings, more than your opinions, more than the people's opinions around you. You've got to let the word of God have a higher place of authority in your thinking than any other source of information. And you've got to let that supernatural, eternal word of God change you in your belief, in your thinking, in your perception, so that you see it God's way. And then that faith grows in your life, and that that exceedingly growing faith will help you to receive what God's already made yours. What we believe determines what we can and what we will receive from God. So there's a connection between who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. The person who has believed will receive a manifestation of the power of God. So what we see then are our responsibility. We identify, we have a responsibility. And what I believe matters because what I believe determines what I what I can receive from God. If I don't believe it, I don't have to worry about it. It's not gonna happen. So that person who says, Well, I don't believe God heals today. Well, God's not gonna violate their will with a healing, with a forced healing. He's not gonna come in and say, Hey, hey, hey, listen to me. I'm I'm gonna make you healed whether you like it or not. No, he's not gonna do that. If you don't believe in him as your healer, you won't experience him as your healer. You know, I love when we read the story of Abraham when he took Isaac up the mountain and offered to obey God. He was obeying that commandment. And then when God said, uh, you know, I've provided this ram in the thicket, and Abraham called the name of that place, Jehovah Jirah. In other words, he said, This is the place where I came to know God as the one who sees and provides. He saw ahead of my need. He saw ahead and made provision ahead of time. And so this is where I came to know God as my provider. He knew God before, but he didn't know him like that. And there are things that you may know about God, but there are more things that you can know about him at a greater level. You may know God as your redeemer, the one who set you free from sin, but do you know him as your way maker? Do you know him as your healer? Do you know him as your abundant provider? Do you know him as your peace giver? Do you know him as the one who upholds you in in his right hand? Do you know him in in all of the ways that he can show himself mighty on your behalf? Well, the way to get to know him is through his word. So our part is to believe what God says. When we do that, our faith gives God legal entry into that situation, into the the physical sickness that you may be encountering. Now you're believing God, and He's got an He's wiring His power through that faith. It's going to flow into that situation through your faith, and your your uh your body is now wired with the power of faith of receiving that healing. And and so this legal entry point that your faith gives for God to move or for God to provide in your life is something that we maintain, something that we establish and then we maintain. So I want to look at Matthew chapter 9. Matthew 9, and I'll begin in verse 27. This is New King James Version. Says, when Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he'd come into the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to him, Yes, Lord. Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, let it be to you. So put yourself now in this scenario that you have come to Jesus and you are petitioning him for something particular. You're petitioning him, maybe in their situation, they wanted to receive their sight. Maybe in your situation, you want wisdom for finances. Maybe in your situation, you want God to restore your relationship with someone in your family. Maybe in your relationship, you're you're needing God to move in your child's life to help them be set free from deception. Whatever the case may be, you come to the Lord and you're like, you're asking him, begging him, please, God, do this. I'm asking you. Father, in Jesus' name, I'm asking you for this. And what if God looked at you and he said, This, do you believe I can do this? Do you believe? And then he then he gave this additional declaration according to what you believe, according to how you believe, according to your faith, that's how you'll get it. Let it be to you according to your faith. Would that put you at a little bit more of an interest in getting in your word in the morning? Would that make you a little bit more interested in turning off the tablet, turning off the TV, giving your setting the phone aside and picking up your Bible and say, wait a minute, it's what I'm getting is based on what I'm believing. So I'm gonna be believing. I'm gonna get my believing up another level. I'm gonna get my believing short up here. So Jesus said, according to your faith, let it be to you. And their eyes were opened. So you know what? They were believing. They did believe. Their eyes were opened, and Jesus sternly warned them, saying, See that no one knows it. So he asked them, Do you believe? And then he said, Let it be done to you according to your faith. And that's what you and I are busy about right now. That's what you and I are focused on right now, according to our faith. So to receive, we need to have a foundation of faith. Our faith provides that legal entry point for God to enter the situation. It functions like a spiritual transaction. Faith is an open door, that spiritual transaction that gives the legal receipt that yes, they have believed, that faith goes on record, that yes, faith has been transacted, that faith has gone through. If you're making a debit and they say you're you put your card in, you put your PIN number in, and you wait a minute, and then it says approved. And that and then they're like, okay, you're free to go. Thank you. Do you need your receipt printed? You know, but that that transaction of your faith gives that legal um authority for the power of God to move in the situation. So when we know that, then we've got to look on the opposite side of that. Unbelief. Unbelief will separate us or cut off, it cuts off the power supply. Like you turn a light on and you turn a light on. Well, what's happening is there's that light switch is allowing the breaker to flow, to connect, or or making a disruption in that flow of the power. And so unbelief breaks the flow of God's power. Romans 11:20 says, because of unbelief, they were broken off. So they were connected through the covenant, but their unbelief caused them to be a disconnect in the flow of God's power for them. They were broken off. It says in the rest of this verse, you stand by faith. So don't be high-minded, but have respect or fear. It's that fear is talking about honor, respect God, because the only way, the only reason you're here is because of faith. The only reason you're in covenant is because of faith. You you stand by faith. They were cut off by unbelief, and you're standing by faith. So it's not you, it's it's your faith in God. In other words, um, it's it's not anything you've done because of any uh outside effort, but it's because you believe God. And so unbelief separates us from God's provision, from his healing power, from his saving power. But faith is our foundation. We stand on it. Hebrews 3, verse 18 says, To whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. They could not enter, even though God prepared it for them. He wanted it, he led them to it. But it was so it wasn't God holding them back. It was unbelief that was holding them back. Um, we have an example in Thomas. Uh, when Thomas, uh one of the disciples, heard that Jesus had had appeared to the other disciples, he said to them, Except I see in his hands the print of his nails and put my finger in the print in the print of the nails and thrust my hands into his side, unless I see it and unless I touch it, I will not. That's the choice. He he isn't saying, I can't. I just I just can't. He's saying, I won't believe it until I see it. Well, that's not faith. That's sense knowledge faith. That's faith that's that's based on what I can see and what I can feel. But God requires faith based on his word, what he said. It's not it's not a blind faith. You're not just faith is never blind. A lot of people say, Well, you you know, faith, you gotta be just going blind. No, faith sees, but it sees by what the word of God has imaged. Faith has an image, faith sees, faith is is clear. Faith is like a radar in an airplane that allows the pilot to see the terrain even when he can't see out the window. He can fly through a cloud bank with no visibility of his sight because he has a radar that provides him visibility that goes beyond what the window is able to provide for him. And the word of God establishes in our heart a visibility that sense knowledge is incapable, unable to provide for us. And so when Jesus Appeared to Thomas, he said, Go ahead, Thomas, reach hither your finger. Behold my hands, reach hither your hand and thrust it in the side and be not faithless. So he said, I will not believe. And Jesus called that faithless or unbelief. He said, Don't be faithless, but be believing. So unbelief is a choice. Thomas made that decision. I will not believe. And you know, in Jesus' hometown, in Matthew 13, we see Jesus going to his hometown after having experienced supernatural, amazing, miraculous power in the previous town. He's he's walking in this power. He's walking in a flow of miracles. And he comes into his own hometown, and it says they began to ask questions. Where does this man get these wisdom and these mighty works? Isn't this the carpenter's son down on the corner? Isn't that Mary's boy? And and they began to establish him according to sense knowledge. Instead of establishing him according to the anointing of God on his life. How God anointed. See, when Jesus got up to preach, he had preached, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me. It says how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit who went about doing good and healing all. And that's what Peter was preaching that day in the centurion's house that in Acts 10. And so this was not the way they saw Jesus. They saw Jesus according to sense knowledge, and they would not believe in him, and they were offended in him. And so that offense cut them off from the power. So Jesus could have done some of those same miraculous things. But it says he did not many mighty works there because, not because he lacked power, not because he lacked opportunity, but he lacked their faith. Their faith did not give any legal. They were not, none of those people were wired for power. None of those people got wired for power. So you and I, we've got to mix faith with the word. And that's what Hebrews 4 2 says. It says, Unto us the gospel is preached as well as unto them. But the word preached did not profit them. So the word came to them, but they did not profit of it because they didn't mix faith with it. It says they not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. That's why you've got to hear the word of God differently than you hear a weather report, a news report. You've got to read it differently than you scroll through your Facebook. The word of God is holy. It's set apart. You've got to have a holy, um, uh, you've got to have a holy reverence while you're reading it. You've got to look at it differently. You've got to say, wait, wait, this is truth. I don't have to read it and scroll through it and just hit the highlights. I'm not I'm not hitting the highlighted portions. I'm letting the word speak to me. So we've got to mix faith with the word. And that's what we're doing by hearing the word, we're hearing, but then we are taking it into our spirit. We're setting it aside as a a form of information that is truth, absolute truth. And nothing compares to God's word in my life. And that's why his word has the ability to change my attitude, change my mind. I'll forgive just because the word tells me to, even when everything in my emotions tells me I don't want to. I'm so glad you tuned in today. We're out of time. Get your copy of the established heart. Go to our website at lifeoffaith.net. I'm so glad you tuned in. I look forward to seeing you next week. Remember to build your faith and frame your world by the word of God. And until we see each other next week, um stand in that place of establishing yourself on the word of God. The key to a stable life is to establish your heart on the word of God. In this 12-part series, Pastor Philip Steele and I explain how to establish your heart in faith on God's Word. God's plan for the believer is to have their heart fixed, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112, verse 8 says, His heart is established. While this is available for you, it's not automatic. You have a responsibility to set the Word of God as the foundation of your thoughts, actions, and decisions. This insightful 12-part series is available in digital or physical format, including a comprehensive study guide with the sermon outlines, the Bible verses, and study points to help you internalize these truths and apply these revelations on a daily basis. The 12-part series, the established part, will help you strengthen your position in God and live victoriously over the situations you face in life. You can watch these videos through our YouTube channel at Life of Faith Church in Little Rock or Life of Faith Church, Kansas. Also, you can order these resources by calling 501-4877 or visiting lifeoffaith.net. Call or go online now. You are invited to Life of Faith Church in Little Rock, where we are building people's faith, producing life, city, state, nation, and world. Our address is 11620 Rainwood Road, just one block off Rodney Parham, near Green Mountain Drive. Our Sunday service begins at 10 a.m. and offers classes for children and youth, in addition to the adult service in the main sanctuary. On Wednesdays, we have an hour of power as we dive into Bible study. We have a place reserved for you and your family at Life of Faith Church. For more information, visit lifeoffaith.net.