The Established Heart
“People who stand firm are those whose hearts are established—whose walk remains strong with the Lord. It doesn’t mean they are perfect, but their hearts are right, and it’s the heart that matters!”
The apostle Paul is a timeless example of one who remained steadfast in his faith even in the face of incredible difficulties.
After his Damascus Road conversion, he began experiencing both wonderful victories and extraordinary trials. He was shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, and falsely imprisoned, yet he got up, brushed himself off, and went on carrying out Christ’s Great Commission, writing “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37 NKJV).
You and I will sometimes face turmoil and troubles, but if our hearts are established in the Word of God, we cannot be shaken. We will be more than conquerors. But how?
The Scriptures declare, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
This is a theme that rings throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, Isaiah 43:2 says:
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
Notice the use of “when.” It’s not “if.”
The Heart of the Matter
Every one of us is going to face trials and tests, but the Bible declares:
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17)
God never promised that weapons would never be formed against us. However, He promised that they wouldn’t prosper.
Yes, weapons will be formed and troubles will come, but you, like David, can proclaim: The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)
The psalmist also gave the answer to turmoil:
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments… Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; He will not be afraid. (Psalm 112:1, 6-8)
The established heart!
This is a person who knows the Word of God and walks intimately with the Father. Because of that relationship, he or she is not shaken or moved by the circumstances of life.
People who stand firm are those whose hearts are established—whose walk remains strong with the Lord. It doesn’t mean they are perfect, but their hearts are right, and it’s the heart that matters!
Our Lord Jesus promised:
Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. (Luke 6:47-48)
When you do it God’s way, He will give you peace in the midst of the storm and will stabilize your heart as you move from victory to victory!
Seven Revelations That Will Establish Your Heart
Several times during recent months I’ve taught on building a firm foundation. Granted, it’s easier to build on sand than it is on rock, but the results will be vastly different.
So it is with the Christian life. It won’t be easy for you to establish your heart deeply in the Rock (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 62:2; Isaiah 28:16; 1 Corinthians 3:11).
It takes hard work. It requires prayer, reading the Word, forsaking the world, keeping your eyes on Jesus, and so much more.
Here are seven foundational facts upon which you can build your life:
1. Be established in the fact that you are redeemed.
We are told, “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12).
When you confess that you are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, you are declaring that you are no longer in satan’s kingdom!
The Word of God proclaims:
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14).
The Spirit is yours. The anointing is yours. God’s presence is yours!
God’s presence does not belong to the unredeemed and unregenerate. It belongs exclusively to the redeemed!
2. Be established in the fact that you are a new creation through Christ Jesus.
We are given this rock-solid, blood-bought promise: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The Greek word for “new creation” means a new species that never existed before. The old things are gone. Your sins are forgiven and in the past.
The Bible tells us that your inner man is being transformed day by day from glory to glory. That inner man is godly. You may be fighting the flesh, but inwardly you are a new creation.
When God declares you forgiven, you are forgiven! Let your heart be firmly established in that eternal truth every day!
3. Be established in the fact that you are God’s righteousness.
We are given this amazing promise: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
You are righteous, not by what you’ve done or how spiritual you feel at any given moment. You are righteous because God proclaims that you are!
Righteousness becomes ours through faith: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe” (Romans 3:22).
God knew you were a sinner, but when you were washed in the blood of His Son, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), you were declared righteous!
4. Be established in the fact that He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Stand firm on this foundation:
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
5. Be established in the fact that His promises are “yea and amen!”
God fulfills His Word. He does what He says He will do. We are told:
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)
What God says is established forever! We can walk, pray, and follow His guidance with the same confidence that Abraham, Moses, David, and the apostle Paul had—regardless of the circumstances we face.
6. Be established in the fact that your faith in Christ can overcome whatever the enemy of your soul throws at you.
We are told, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Our Lord Himself taught, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).
Nothing!
Faith can overcome the world. And if you want living faith, say with Job, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).
When you can say with all your heart, “I hunger more for Your Word than for food itself,” faith will come alive in ways you’ve never dreamed possible!
7. Be established in the fact that all power in the name of Jesus is yours.
If you ask in His name and according to His Word and will, there’s nothing you can ask that you’ll not receive.
The Lord said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Then He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you” (John 16:23).
Be established in the knowledge that the power in the name of Jesus is yours. You can ask in that name and receive!
Remember, “With God on our side like this, how can we lose?” (Romans 8:31 MSG). Be unshakable in your faith, knowing that He is establishing your heart!
It is my prayer that you will take these rock-hard truths from the Bible and apply them daily to your life so you can experience the assurance that comes from believing and trusting God, no matter what comes your way!
My Challenge to You
Why does God want us to be established in faith and to live fearlessly as we face the future?
Our mission is to reach the world with the Gospel of Christ. After Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth,” He followed up that statement with an auspicious command known since then as the Great Commission:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)
When all is said and done, the most important thing in the world is the salvation of souls. Just as Christ Jesus, during His earthly ministry, was compassionate and merciful to the multitudes, He is still eager “to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25). Today He continues to commission you and me to share His love and life-saving, miracle-working Gospel with the lost.
Your faithfulness as a partner, both in prayer and financial support, has made it possible for this ministry to move forward in faith in an unprecedented way in recent months. And with your continued support, I believe the coming months are destined to be some of the most fruitful and anointed days we’ve seen.
I’m asking you to stand in the gap with me for those around the globe who have not yet received Christ as Savior and Lord. I need you to help me fulfill the Great Commission now.
Take a step of faith by sowing a generous financial seed, believing that as you sow for the salvation of souls around the world, God will do the same for your loved ones. Wrap your seed in faith and target it specifically toward touching your family and friends.
Jesus Himself promised a mighty outpouring of blessings in your own life because of your obedience and faithfulness:
Now [remember] this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to others] will also reap generously [and be blessed]. (2 Corinthians 9:6 AMP)
This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11 MSG)
Remember, Jesus Himself said this:
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)
God’s Word is filled with similar promises, and I’m only the witness to what He has done in the lives of so many of my precious partners who have experienced His outpouring and abundance.
So I ask for your continued prayers as we go forward in faith, for we know that God’s calling is sure and steadfast. We have much to do, and we can do no less than our best!
Together, we have a mighty work to do!
In warmest Christian love,
Benny Hinn
What better time than right now to plant your financial seed toward the coming great harvest? Ministry expenses continue to rise, yet we know that the coming days and weeks will be a very special season of salvation and blessing around the globe. Be part of this amazing season of harvest and outpouring as God’s love is revealed to the lost and needy through your gifts. Sow your financial seed today. Don’t delay!