SPEAKER_00 0:23

Welcome to Faith Builders. I'm so glad you're here today. I am excited about what God is telling us through this teaching. We are in a 12-part series, this is lesson two, on the established heart. It is so vital that we learn how to establish our hearts on the Word of God and to build the foundation of God's word so that we can believe from the heart and receive all that God has for us. God has provided so much for us in His covenant. He's made available to us redemption, freedom, healing, prosperity. He desires for us to prosper and be in health in all of our ways. He has made it available, but a lot of times people leave it right there. Well, if God wants me to have it, I guess I would have it in my life. He has made it available, but we access everything He's made available with faith. Faith is the receiving, faith is the ability to bring into our lives all that God has made in the covenant for you and I to partake of. And that's why we've got to, and I'll use the example I used last week, we've got to wire our lives for the power. If you go into a closet, usually there's not an electric outlet in the closet. Why? Because for the most part, people don't use the closet to plug in their alarm clock. They don't use the closet to plug their TV in. They don't need any electric um outlets to flow into that room, into that little space in in their house. Why? Because it's not designed for that. But there's not a place in your life that you can go without the power. You need every room in your life wired for the power of God. You need your marriage wired for the power. You need your uh health, your your future in finances, you need your relationship with your children, you need every area of your life equipped for the power to flow to that place. And that's what establishing your heart does. And so we've got 12 lessons, the established heart. And I happen to have the Spanish version in my hands because we've done this in our Spanish broadcast as well. Um, the established heart is 12 lessons. We've got a study guide, we've also got a flash drive, those are available on our website, lifeoffaith.net. You can go to our website and click on our YouTube channel and watch them for free. They're also available. All of these will be archived on our YouTube channel so you can watch them there. When they air on the broadcast on TV, we also put them live on the YouTube channel. So you can go back and watch it there. We just want to make it available for you to grow and for you to get that root system built down into the soil of your heart so that you have your heart established on the Word of God. Last week we talked about who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed, and how those two questions were connected, because the person who has believed is the person who receives the manifestation of the power of God. And so that's what we are recognizing is our responsibility that I have a part to play. I have the part to play. Jesus, he was healing the two blind men and he said, Do you believe that I'm able to do this? And they said, Yes, Lord. And then he said, Let it be to you according to your faith. So if Jesus responded to you, the next time you go to him and you pray, Father, in Jesus' name, I'm praying for this to happen in my life. If he responds to you and says, Hey, do you believe I can do that? And and I'll I'll tell you one thing that helped me so much is when Charles Caps made this very transparent statement. Charles Capps, what a great teacher, what a great minister of the word of God. And he said that he the he was praying one day and and he was you know asking God something for for to do something and complaining, God, it's not working. I'm praying, and God said, What are you doing? He said, I I was offended. I thought, don't you know I'm praying? And he said, No, you're not, you're complaining. And he said, I'd appreciate if you quit telling me what the enemy's been telling you. And so the Lord said to him, I don't want you to pray for anything you can't believe me for. And that when he told me that, when he when he told me that, when I heard that, him preach that, when I heard that, I thought, I've asked God for things I can't believe for. And Brother Charles was doing it. Brother Charles said, Well, Lord, my prayer time's about to get really short. He said, Because I'd never established my heart before I went to pray, I would just pray all around the world. I'd pray those scatterload prayers. I would just pray, you know, Lord bless all the ministers in China, all the missionaries in China. And so what he was saying was God told him to go to the word and to find the where God promised him that thing in the word, and then to spend the time establishing his heart on that promise before he came and made the petition. And that's what you and I are busy about right now. That's what we're focused on right now in this series. I want to establish my heart. What does God's word say about this area? I need it, I want it, I'm asking God for it, but do I believe him? So if God looked at you and he said, Do you believe I'm able to do that? And then followed up by saying, According to what you believe, that's what I'll do. And so that's he doesn't change. God says, I am God, I change not. If he did that then, he's doing that now. If Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever, said to those men, according to your faith, that's what I'm able to do for you. That's what will be done for you. And it's not the only time that he said it. He said that multiple times. And so that's what we want to establish in our hearts: faith. We want, what does God's word say about that, so that when I go to God, I'm asking in faith. Nothing wavering. And so James chapter one is where I want to start today. James 1, 21. It says, wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. And I never used that word, by the way, in my whole life, except I've read it from the scripture. I've never used the word superfluity. But what it means, it means what's left over from what's the remaining um something left over, a residue. So he said, lay apart any residue of your life before Christ. Lay aside any of the wrong thinking, the filthiness, the wrong thinking, the wrong way of responding to someone. If someone um cuts you off in traffic, uh don't throw your hand out the window. Uh, don't respond with uh a verbal assault. He said, lay the that's your flesh from before Christ. Lay that aside and receive with meekness the engrafted word. So there's a receiving on our part. I've got to lay aside the attitudes and the actions of my life before Christ. And now I've got to receive the word that's going to establish my attitudes and my actions for this life in Christ. It says, by receiving this engrafted word, this word that's made a part of me, I am able to save my soul. It says, receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. Now, if you go back just a few verses, you'll find out he's saying, Brethren, so we're talking to saved people. We're talking to people who are born again. They're alive unto God. So what does he mean, save your souls, if they're already born again? What does he mean that receiving the word of God is able to save my soul? Well, that is referring to that renewing, the renewing of your mind, the restoration of your mind, your will, your emotions. It's talking about this reset that needs to take place in the soul realm. And the word is the only way to reset the soul. The word is the only thing that can renew the mind, the word is the only thing that can tame the tongue, the word is the only thing that can establish the will to be submissive to the will of God. So this mind, the will, the emotions need the word applied to them. So he says, receiving the word will restore or renew or reset your soul. And then he says this, but be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. That's where a lot of people fall into the deception of mental ascent. Mental ascent sounds like faith and looks like faith because mental ascent will say, Yeah, I that's in the Bible. I believe that. But mental ascent hasn't pulled it into a place of believing yet. And so he says, it's possible to hear the word. And and we are a people who hear the word. I mean, that is a part of it. That is a necessary part of it. But I don't fall short and stop there. Hearing isn't the end, hearing is the beginning, not the end. You've got started, but you've got to finish. A lot of times you'll see the starting line of the marathon is um abundant with participants, but did they all make it to the finish line? So hearing the word is the starting line, but doing the word is the finish line. It says those people who hear the word and don't act on it are deceiving themselves. He says, be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. So it is possible for you to deceive yourself by hearing it and thinking that's enough. Well, I heard that. And and hearing that, and we've got it on CD. I got I still have cassettes. I don't have a cassette player anymore, but I've got cassettes. Why? Because they're so good I don't want to get rid of them. But we can hear it. We can hear the word, but hearing it isn't the end. Once I hear it, now I'm responsible to act on it. I'm responsible for the doing. So he says, if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who beholds his natural face in a glass and he beholds himself, and then he goes his way and forgets what manner of man he was. That person, he saw it, but then he forgot what he saw. Now, what we're seeing then is a picture of someone who looks in the mirror and they see their image. They see their image and then they walk away and forget what they look like, forget what they saw in the image. And the word of God is a it transmits an image to your spirit. You can't see yourself righteous without the word. It's not gonna come to you by sense knowledge, it's not gonna come to you. You're not gonna, that's why people say, Oh, I don't feel righteous. That's not how it comes. It doesn't come by feeling. You're not gonna get it that way. Don't expect it to come through that avenue. It comes by faith. The righteousness which is of faith, says on this wise. So it's the righteousness that you are in Christ right now, whether you feel like it or not, for you to see it, you need the word. And then you've got to act on what the word shows you. You've got to live in line with what you're seeing in the word. The word of God says you're free from condemnation. So don't accept condemnation, don't permit condemnation, don't participate with condemnation. Why? Because he that the son is set free is free indeed. So I'm I'm gonna act in line with that. I am free. I'm free from that addiction. I'm free from that. Uh what how did you get free? Do you feel free? Didn't say I felt it. I'm not looking for feelings to identify what the word of God has already transmitted and painted or projected as the image on my spirit. I'm gonna act on that because I'm a doer of the word of God. So the word engrafted, when it says receive the engrafted word, the Thayer's Greek lexicon says the word engrafted means implanted by another's instruction, the doctrine implanted by your teachers. So that's something that's planted in you, a teaching, a truth. That's why God gave us teachers and pastors and men and women of God who can help take that word and put it in our hearts and help us to see and to live by what that reveals to us. So this engrafted word, I receive this engrafted word, it's planted in me. It it becomes a part of me, it's growing in me. And um, the vines expository dictionary says it's a word whose property it is to root itself like a seed in the heart. A word that roots itself into the heart. So receive the roots of this word that's being taught to you. Receive the roots of this truth that's being implanted in you. And so then we receive it in the hearing, it's deposited, and then we receive it into the soil of our heart, and we begin to act on it. And that's what allows the root system to take place. So hearing the word is looking into the mirror of God's word to identify who we really are. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, not because I feel like it, not because other people tell me I am, but because God's word tells me I am. When you need to approach God to make a petition, you approach him on the basis of what the word has revealed to you about your standing with him. And that's why you come boldly into his throne. Why? You've got faith in what the blood did. The blood has cleansed me. I can come before God. The Jesus has made a new and a living way for me. I can enter into the presence of God with confidence. Why? Because I'm bloodwashed. I have faith that the blood cleansed me from my sin. I don't come in with a full remembrance of how sinful I've been in my past. Why? Because that's past and I'm a new creature, and old things are passed away, and all things are created new. And now I'm walking in the light of this resurrection life that's mine in Christ. I've I went down in the waters of baptism and I was buried with him in baptism, but then I was raised up with him in the newness of life. I'm letting Romans chapter six be real to me. I'm doing Romans chapter six. I'm walking in the newness of life. So when we talk about hearing and doing the word, we see that this is something that I can do it or I can neglect to do it. And it's not God who is holding back, it's my part of not being a doer of the word. It goes on to say in James chapter 1, verse 25, that the person who looks into the perfect law of liberty. That's what the word of God is. That's that's what establishes by law our liberty in Christ and continues therein. So I'm looking into it and I'm continuing, doing. He being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in all his deed. So the blessing is on the doing. I'm hearing it, I'm continuing in it, I'm doing it, I'm acting on it. The amplified of James 1.25 says, but he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the law of liberty, and is faithful to and perseveres in looking into it. So that that puts a whole new perspective about your prayer time in the morning, your your time with God in the morning. I'm not here because I'm clocking in to fulfill an obligation so that God will bless me. I'm here because I need to root myself, establish myself, and establish myself in his word and his word in me. So I'm faithful to it, I'm persevering and looking into it. Says this person, being not a heedless listener who forgets, but an active doer who obeys, he shall be blessed in his doing, his life of obedience. So being a doer of the word is being obedient to the word of God. Notice it uses the phrase, he perseveres. It's also in other translations, he abides, he fixes his attention on. That's what we want to do. We want to fix our attention on the word of God. You know, there are so many things that want your attention today. So many things that want that are vying for your attention. I mean, early in the morning, trying to that little dinging on your tablet or dinging on your device is calling for you. Hey, look at me. There's a notification. Turn those notifications off and train yourself to be notified by the word of God. 1 Timothy 4 in verse 15 says that we can meditate upon these things. He's teaching, he's saying, meditate upon these things, give yourself wholly, completely to them, so that your propheting may appear unto all. So the propheting comes after the meditating. The propheting comes after you giving yourself to this truth. Take heed to yourself and unto your teaching, your doctrine. Continue, continue, there's the persevering, the abiding, continue in them, for in doing this you shall both save yourself. He's talking to Christians, he's talking to believers, but he's talking about something beyond just the initial I'm born again talking. He's talking about you will restore yourself, you'll reset, you'll renew, you'll maintain that flow of salvation that's necessary to fix the things you need fixed in your life. So he said, by doing this, you will both save yourself and those who hear you. By doing what? Meditating, giving yourself to this truth, taking heed to yourself, continuing in these teachings. So the instructions then are to the believer, to the hearer, to continue, to take heed and continue in them. But the results are profiting and salvation for you and for those who listen to you, those who you're imparting into. Another example is Joshua 1 in verse 8. Says, this book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. Glory to God. If you keep it in your mouth, you've got it in your thinking. If you're saying if you're talking it, you're thinking it. You have to, your mouth is directing what your mind is thinking about. He said, Keep the word in your mouth, meditate therein day and night, so that you may observe to do according to all that's written therein, for then you'll make your way prosperous, and then you'll have good success. So good success is the result of hearing and doing the word of God. Psalm chapter 1 is another example. Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. And what's he going to have? He'll be like a tree planted by the rivers of living water. This person brings forth fruit in his season. He shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. So For us to be established on the word, we've got to establish it in our heart, and then we've got to be a doer of that word. God is authorized to bless us as we obey his word. Our obedience is a the doing of the word is a positioning. It's a GPS, it's a global positioning. We are positioned in the place of receiving. We're positioned in the place of faith. Why? Because we're doing the word of God. Deuteronomy 28:1 says, if you will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all his commandments, which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth. If you are diligent to do this, these these instructions, God will set you on high. He'll make your way prosperous. This verse says, God will set you on high. He goes on in verse 15 or 13 to say, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail. Above, you shall be above only and not be beneath. If you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, and you are watchful to do them. It's the doer of the word that's blessed and is doing. If you will not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, being watchful to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, then these curses come on you. And it's not God's will. It's the choice of the person who refuses to do what God says. So the doing of the word of God positions us for the receiving of every good thing he's planned for us. Failure to do is a choice. Failure to do what you've heard is a choice that cuts you off from the doing. In our previous session last week, we learned that unbelief cuts us off from the power of God. It disconnects us from the power of God. And failure to do the word is another thing that cuts off the power supply, cuts off the supernatural flow of God's provision in into our life. Failure to do it. And that's why you and I have got to recognize we've got to give heed to the word of God. Hebrews 2 says, give more earnest heed to the things which we have heard. So heeding what we've heard is more than just hearing it. Oh, yeah, I need to hear that again. No, I need to, I need to act on it. I need to train myself to hear it and do it. You know, I've given directions to someone before and they were distracted. And I knew they're gonna call me because they're I'm I'm giv giving them directions about how something works or how to get to a certain place, and they're kind of halfway listening. And I thought, mm-hmm. They're not hearing with the intent to do what I'm telling them. They're not hearing with with that mindset of I need to know how to put this into action, so I better pay close attention. They're just kind of hearing me, and it's going in here and out here, and they're gonna call me because they did not hear with the intent to do. And that's what you and I've got to train ourselves. I need to hear with the intention of doing what I've heard. I'm so glad you tuned in today. We've got more in this series of establishing your heart on the word of God. So go to our website, lifeoffaith.net, so you can get your copy of our study guide. And I'll look forward to seeing you next week. Build your faith and frame your world by the word of God. I'll see you next week. 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. You shall not be afraid. 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 116-20 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.