The problem was always our awful hearts, and our lack of faith therein.

You might say – ‘faith’ is believing, and believing must be in mind.
How can ‘faith’ be in the heart?

No.  The faith that we need is in the heart.
This faith is quiet assurance that cannot be dismissed.
This faith is that you know that you know that you know.

If this faith were in the mind – it would be questioned, argued with, and proven by the mind.  It would be up one day, and down on the next day.  It would need us to tediously rationalize it for it to be put into action.

If we don’t have this heart faith, can we get it?  Can we change? Yes.  We can change to get this brand of faith. 
And with it, we can change the world.

Luke 21:33
   Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Jeremiah 17:9
   The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Mark 7:20-23
   That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
   For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
   Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
   All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Proverbs 4:23
   Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Stability:
Psalm 112:7
   He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

How do we cleanse our hearts?
By faith.
We get this heart of faith but putting faith in.

Acts 15:9
   …purifying their hearts by faith.

Hebrews 10:22
   Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

How do we get faith?
Romans 10:17
   So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Galatians 3:2
   Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Proverbs 18:15
   The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.

Listen to the Lord.
John 16:13
   Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

2 Samuel 7:18
   Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

Quiet down, and listen.
Psalm 46:10
   Be still, and know that I am God

Matthew 6:6
   …when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret;

Prefer to listen, rather than speak.
James 1:19
   …let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak…

Don’t speak much.
Proverbs 17:27
   He that hath knowledge spareth his words

Proverbs 10:19
   In the multitude of words there lacks not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

Your opinions:
Proverbs 18:2
   A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.

Isaiah 65:2
   I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

A warning:
Matthew 12:36-37
   That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
   For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Ask for a new heart.
Ezekiel 36:26-27
   A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
   And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Psalm 51:10
   Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Deuteronomy 30:6          
   And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

Only ask if yours is broken.
Psalm 34:18-19
   The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
   Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Psalm 51:17
   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Ecclesiastes 7:3
   Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

1 Peter 5:5-6
   …be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
   Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time

Hearing Christ’s words:
John 15:3
   Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Ephesians 5:26-27
   That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
   That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Clean or unclean, what you believe in your heart, will be expressed by your mouth.
Matthew 12:34
   O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Proverbs 16:23
   The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

You cannot have one thing in your heart, and speak another thing out of your mouth.
And it works both ways, as what you say fills your heart.

Notice how the speech is first twice, but then the heart is first.
Romans 10:8-10
   But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
   That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
   For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

In Hebrew, to ‘learn by heart’ (memorize words) is to ‘learn by mouth’.
How do you learn by heart?  Repeat sentences by your mouth.
And when you speak the Word of God, you also hear the Word of God and fill your heart.
Proverbs 4:20-21
   My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
   Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

(And, in Biblical times, they even read scripture out loud.)
Acts 8:30
   And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias

Change your heart by listening to a decent sermon and having conversation with proper Christians.
Colossians 3:15-16
   And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
   Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Psalm 50:23
   Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

The power of speech: it can change your heart.
And it can change the world.
Proverbs 18:21
   Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Hebrews 11:3
   …the worlds were framed by the word of God

When the Lord put his words in Jeremiah’s mouth, Jeremiah had the power to destroy the wicked and build God’s land.
Jeremiah 1:9-10
   Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
   See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Destroy:
Jeremiah 18:7
   At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

Build:
Jeremiah 18:9
   And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

But we must first deal with our heart before we can do as Jeremiah.
2 Chronicles 25:1-2,15
   Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem…
   And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.
   …Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah

Put on Christ’s righteousness for perfection (alternative translations for the word ‘perfection’ are maturity, fulfilment or completeness).
Ephesians 4:24
   And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Galatians 3:27
   For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Hebrews 10:14
   For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

1 Peter 5:10
   But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Ask the Lord regarding your speech and your heart.
Psalm 19:12-14
   …cleanse thou me from secret faults.
   Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
   Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Psalm 139:23-24
   Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
   And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Where does this leave us?
There seem to be a lot of professing Christians who are sitting back and waiting for Christ’s return.
But first, Christ’s people must be made perfect, mature, fulfilled, complete.  Make ways straight.

John 1:23
   I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

1 Corinthians 1:7-8
   …waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
   Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:12
   For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ

Speak God’s wisdom.
1 Corinthians 2:5-7
   That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
   Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
   But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory

Don’t speak thusly:
Psalm 12:2-4
   They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
   The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
   Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?

Psalm 52:2-4
   Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
   Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
   Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

When the media says it's flu season and you will be sick, do you agree?
Or do you say:
Matthew 8:17
   Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

When the diagnosis is cancer, do you say ‘that’s the way it is.’
Or do you proclaim:
Jeremiah 17:14
   Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

The atomic bomb of healing and other needs:
(12 minutes, 21 seconds in length)

Associated scripture

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When you’re in financial trouble, do you complain?
Or do you proclaim:
2 Corinthians 8:9
   For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your (my) sakes he became poor, that ye (I) through his poverty might be rich.

(Substitute ‘your’ and ‘ye’ for ‘my’ and ‘I’ to make it personal.)

2 Corinthians 9:8
   And God is able to make all grace abound toward you (me); that ye (I), always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work

Luke 18:29-30
   There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,
   Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

When the world is closing in, do you bow to the world?
Or do you declare:
Isaiah 54:17
   No weapon that is formed against thee (me) shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee (me) in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord (me), and their righteousness (my righteousness) is of me, saith the Lord.

Romans 8:28
   And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

When you see an unruly wife, do you say: “You go girl!”, or do you announce:
Colossians 3:18
   Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

Esther 1:20
   …all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.

When ‘cultural enrichment’ comes in the form of Buddha, Wicca, Islam, etc., – do you call this benign multiculturalism, or do you exclaim:
Exodus 23:24
   Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

When terrorists strike, do you #PrayFor….(Insert City) in some sentimental sense, without giving thought to what God’s will is?
Or do you realize that this could be the time to unleash God’s destruction – and therefore remind people that:
James 4:4
   …know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Worldly destruction could lead to our repentance.  Say it:
2 Corinthians 8:2
   How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

Psalm 83:16-17
   Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
   Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish

Luke 12:4-5
   Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
   But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Explain that you are enjoying only sorrow that leads to repentance.
2 Corinthians 7:9-10
   Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
   For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Matthew 6:10
   Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

When we speak the Word of the Lord, we bring heaven down to earth.
Isaiah 55:8-9
   For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
   For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Sometimes the Word comes down as rain, and sometimes as snow.
Isaiah 55:10-11
   For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
   So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth

Did you know that snow covered fields produce some of the best agricultural crops?
Something is in snow that isn’t in rain that is particularly good for the fields.
We understand that rain softens the earth, makes it capable of accepting seed and causes seed to germinate.
The rain is something that most can readily accept such as:
John 3:16
   For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son

But snow first hardens the earth rather than softens.  Moisture is withheld.
Most of this website is snow – something we cannot readily accept.  You might say: “That doesn’t sound like the love of Christ.”  “That’s a cold, hard word.”
But as the temperature changes and the snow melts, it does the earth more good than the rain.

And if your heart melts and you truly accept, surrender and submit to the uncensored Word of God – the snow washed you better than the rain.
Joshua 5:1
   …that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.