Living By Faith

SO BE IT

Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. (2 Corinthians 1:20 Message)

You can go to church and walk out in the same condition you came in, even though you said, “Amen! Glory! Hallelujah!” in all the right places.
Mark Hankins

Do you know what “Amen” means? It means, “So be it.” If you are in church and say, “Amen,” you are saying, “So be it.” You ought to consider what you “Amen.” Some people just say “Amen” at timed intervals. They are not even paying attention. One man was preaching and said, “You know, millions of people are going to hell every day.” Then he said, “Amen.” That means, “So be it. Let them go to hell, man. I don’t care.” You need to be careful when you say “Amen.”

Paul is saying, “Amen, so be it.” Jesus is the Amen. Jesus, through His death, burial, and resurrection came and said, “So be it” to everything God has ever promised. He fulfilled it and brought the reality of it into the economy of God. It is no longer just a promise or just some theology; it is an absolute reality.

Confession: What God has promised is affirmative-no question about it!

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NO EVIDENCE OF THE ENEMY

But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
(Nahum 1:8-9)

God will destroy the place the enemy got into your life so that he can never get in again; He will also destroy the evidence.
Mark Hankins

Can you believe God can bring some things to an end? God can bring behaviors and influences that have controlled your life to an end.

Sin shall not have dominion over you. God said that He would stop this affliction. He will stop the problem or condition, and it will never rise again. God will destroy the place the enemy got into your life so that he can never get in again. God will even destroy the evidence.

This is true in any area of your life: poverty, defeat, or sickness. In areas of your life where behavior, influences, or circumstances have controlled you, God will bring it to an end. There is no inferiority, shame, or poverty on you in Christ. There is no evidence on you of what you used to be!

Confession: I believe that God can put an end to the affliction in my life! He will destroy the evidence of what I used to be!

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EXCEEDING JOY USHERS IN THE GLORY OF GOD

Yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:8)

Believing is always accompanied by joy. Mark Hankins

Rejoicing activates faith; joy accompanies believing. In 1 Peter 1:8, the Apostle Peter speaks of some wild, ecstatic, triumphant, heavenly joy, not someday when we get to heaven, but right now! The Amplified Bible says, “You believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.”

Unspeakable joy is a container of the glory of God. The glory and the abundance of God are manifested in an atmosphere of rejoicing. We are commanded to rejoice; it is not an option! God brought us here to have fun — now we are going to have fun! God brought us here to have victory — now we are going to have victory!

Confession: I rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. I have victory! The glory and the abundance of God are manifesting in my life today!

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MOVE YOUR MOUTH– MOVE YOUR MOUNTAIN

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain… (Mark 11:23)

Change your words; change your world. Mark Hankins

The speaking part of faith is very important. Speaking is vital to faith working effectively. In Mark 11:23, Jesus’ words indicate that the speaking part must be emphasized three times more than the believing part. Jesus emphasized the speaking part three times and believing only once.

Faith moves God. Faith moves mountains, but faith will not move anything until it moves you. The first part of you that your faith will move is your mouth. Smith Wigglesworth said, “No man looks at appearances if he believes God. I’m not moved by what I see, I’m not moved by what I feel, I’m moved only by what I believe, and I believe God.”

Your faith must change your words before it will change your world. If you are silent, you lose by default. There is no silent faith in the Bible. Faith must have a voice.

Confession: I’m not moved by what I see, I’m not moved by what I feel, I’m moved only by what I believe, and I believe God!

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FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26)

Faith will not move anything until it moves you. The first part of you that your faith will move is your mouth!
Mark Hankins

In my psychology class, we learned that reasoning will not change an emotion, but action will. In other words, you can’t feel your way into better behavior, but you can behave your way into better feelings. God created us so that actions are stronger than feelings. Faith is an act. By faith we access the grace of God. Just a little bit of faith can access a whole lot of grace.

God has already done everything He is going to do about our salvation, our healing, our deliverance, and our blessing. Jesus paid it all and then sat down. Now it is our move — we have to know what He’s done for us and act in faith on the Word of God.

Many churches are full of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and prepositions but God is looking for verbs. He is looking for people who will believe and will act in faith.

Confession: Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth. (Mark 9:23)

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