Living By Faith

A WHOLE NEW IDENTITY

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)

Once you are lost in Christ, the devil can’t even find you! Mark Hankins

I believe the moment you receive Christ you become a new creation in Him. It takes a while to feed on the Word before you say, “I’m not even the same person anymore. I have a whole new identity.”

If you witnessed a crime and the FBI got hold of you and wanted to give you a new identity to protect you, they would change your address, your Social Security number, and all records concerning every bill that you owe. They would totally wipe out your past to protect you.

God wiped out your old identity when you were born again. He wiped out your past. Every account, sin, or claim the devil had on you has been wiped out. Once you are lost in Christ, the devil can’t even find you! Hallelujah!

The devil can’t find you unless you stick your fleshly head up and say, “Hey, it’s me!” Slap your head and get it back down in there, man! You want to talk about my past, my feelings, and my failures? God says, “I don’t want to talk about that. You are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in Me. You’ve got a new identity now.”

Confession: I am dead to sin and my past. My life is hidden with Christ in God. I am lost in Christ!

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HOW GOD CHANGES PEOPLE’S IDENTITIES

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

God was working IN CHRIST, but He was working ON US! Mark Hankins

Paul had such an extreme identity change, he said, “It’s not even me living anymore.” That’s a pretty radical change! People are trying to get God to help them deal with their problems, yet He is saying, “As my child, since I am living on the inside of you, just let Me deal with your challenges through you.”

Paul was a Pharisee, a very religious man, and he received a strong revelation of Jesus Christ. When he was hit with the light of God, he went blind for three days. During that time, he fasted and prayed.

Someone said, “The power of God hit Saul of Tarsus so hard on the road to Damascus that it knocked the ‘S’ off the front of his name and replaced it with a ‘P’ and he became Paul.” His name changed, his identity changed, and his nature changed.

Confession: I am crucified with Christ. I have a new identity and a new nature in Christ. It’s not even me living anymore but Christ living in me!

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THE GOOD NEWS

It is in and through Christ and the sacrifice of His life that we have been liberated. (Ephesians 1:7 Barclay)

Everything Satan has done in Adam, God has reversed in Christ.
Mark Hankins

The Gospel is the good news that man has been given eternal life through Jesus Christ. That life is the very life of God imparted to His children. It is healing life, overcoming life, reigning life, victorious life and it is the blessed life now- not just for when you get to heaven. It is heaven’s life flowing in you in this world.

God has targeted His power at man’s deepest needs– spirit, soul, and body. God knows the root of your problems, and He has effectually focused His power there. The word “salvation” has a five-fold meaning: deliverance, healing, safety, preservation, and soundness. This is not just a “heaven” message; it is an “earth” message as well.

The Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16) Someone said that if you think you need more power, you really just need more Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God. The word “gospel” means glad tidings or good news. The Gospel is where God has released His power for the purpose of producing salvation.

Confession: I have eternal life. It is healing life, reigning life, victorious life, overcoming life, and blessing life!

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THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

The law put a curse on us. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with you. Christ put himself under that curse. (Galatians 3:13 | Deaf)

The Gospel is the good news that man has been given eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Mark Hankins

Jesus demonstrated the Gospel by healing the sick and setting the captives free in this world. Paul preached the Gospel, and the crippled man at Lystra received faith to be healed as he heard the message. (Acts 14:7) Paul said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on thy feet.” The man leaped and walked. The people thought Paul healed the man, but it was simply the demonstration of the power of the Gospel.

To see what the curse of the law is, you need to turn to Deuteronomy 28:15-68. This list includes everything from sickness and poverty to disaster in the family and the nation. You can see the reverse of the curse by reading Deuteronomy 28:1-13. All these blessings shall come on you and overtake you. Christ hath redeemed you from the curse! Even now the curse is broken!

Confession: I am blessed in my family; I am blessed in my body, and I am blessed in my business because Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law!

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GOD’S MASTERPIECE

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

In Christ, you are not just a different person; you are a new kind of person!
Mark Hankins

While preaching in Paris, I had the opportunity to visit the Louvre. With over eight miles of galleries, one million works of art and more than 400,000 masterpieces, I knew I would not be able to see everything. So I headed right for the Mona Lisa (one of the most world-famous masterpieces) and spent extra time there. If you see all the other paintings and sculptures, and miss the Mona Lisa, you have missed the most important work of art.

The same is true of the Bible. It contains the world’s greatest collection of God’s works of art. However, if you see all the beautiful pictures in the Word of God and miss God’s greatest masterpiece, then you will have really missed the Bible.

The Bible is the story of man’s redemption. The Bible is about Jesus, our Redeemer, and His work. All sixty-six books contain pictures of God’s plan and purpose to restore man to Himself.

Confession: I am a new creation in Christ. Old things are passed away, and everything made new. I am God’s Masterpiece – a man in Christ!

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