Dear Partners and Friends,
Through last month’s partner letter, the Lord had me to minister to you the importance of maintaining the condition of our heart. I shared the instruction of the Lord from John, chapter 14.
Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me. (John 14:1 AMPC)
This instruction is one we must obey in order to be able to operate the victory and blessing that belong to us as children of God. If our hearts are full of care, troubled, or burdened, our faith will be hindered. I gave you four points to help you maintain the condition of your heart:
#1 DECIDE TO TRUST THE LORD NO MATTER WHAT MAY COME.
By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me? (Psalm 56:4 AMPC)
#2 DECLARE YOUR TRUST IN HIM.
I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust! (Psalm 91:2 AMPC)
#3 MAINTAIN YOUR FLOW OF FAITH
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) Hebrews 10:23
#4 PUT PEACE IN PLACE
Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.] (John 14:27 AMPC)
I want to go a step further in our understanding of this supernatural peace that Jesus has provided.
And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours]. (Philippians 4:7 AMP)
One of the main reasons this supernatural force of peace is supplied to us is to protect us. When we really see how destructive thoughts of fear, anxiety, or worry can be, we will be more diligent to allow the peace of God to have priority.
Scientists have proven that worry can cause physical side effects like hypertension or high blood pressure. That is just the destruction that can be seen in manifestation on the outside. The spiritual damage is just as serious, if not even more serious.
“What kind of spiritual damage?” you might ask.
One example is this. The damage that sorrow in the heart causes to the joy of the Lord, which is the spiritual strength of the believer, results in that believer being weak and struggling to resist the adversity. Many times, they don’t realize how weak their spirit is or how much easier it would be to resist the spiritual opposition if they were stronger. They just assume it is supposed to be hard. So, they tie a knot at the end of the rope and hang on, waiting for God to see them through.
Another example is when a Christian yields to fear. The fear negates or cancels out their faith. Peter was walking on the water and began to look at the wind and waves when he became afraid he began to sink.
Many Christians slowly descend into the problem not realizing it was fear that moved them away from the power of God. If they have never been taught to resist the fear and maintain a confidence in God, they think the fear is a normal part of life and participate with it.
The seed of the Word that is supposed to be safely growing in the heart of a child of God. That Word seed is the nutrition for our spiritual growth. We plant the Word about our marriage to grow a harvest of God’s will to manifest in our marriage. We plant the Word about our health and prosperity in order to see a harvest of God’s will to manifest in those areas of life. For every area, our family, success on the job, spiritual maturity, success in ministry, etc, there is a Word seed that must be sown into the ground of the heart.
Jesus warned us about the cares that have the potential to choke out the harvest of the Word we have been diligently sowing in our lives in His teaching on the parable of the sower (Mark 4, Matthew 13, Luke 8). Let’s take that warning seriously!
Worry, sorrow, fear, anxiety, burdens, and stress are destructive! They are aimed at depleting the spiritual forces that flow in the heart. We must guard our heart with all diligence because out of the heart flow the issues (forces) of life (Proverbs 4).
Peace is the protection over the contents of our spirit or heart. We must determine to allow peace to do its work. According to Philippians 4, this peace begins protecting the heart that has refused to care. After the peace begins to operate, the thoughts must be maintained on things that allow the peace to continue.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:6-8
As your partner, I want to sow into your life this CD teaching, The Protection of Peace, that I recently taught in our local church. Make sure you mark and send in your partner response form to receive it.
We have the services from both Faith Builders campuses available to watch on our website www.buildfaith.net.
We love to hear your praise reports and welcome your prayer requests. Thank you for being a partner with this ministry. Thank you for being a Faith Builder! I believe you will experience the fullness of the blessing of the Lord!
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Also, please spread the Word! We are now on Roku with both campuses!
