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MAXIMUM JOY

Consider it maximum joy, my brothers, when you get involved in all sorts of trials. (James 1:2  Berkeley)

The reason the devil is putting pressure on you is because God’s got a blessing for you!

Mark Hankins

I played on the championship football team in high school. We were undefeated, so we always went out fully expecting to win. One day the coach told me, “Now Hankins,” as he grabbed me by my shoulder pads, “you might be able to go around the tackle, but by the time you go around him, what you’re looking for already went by.”

Then he said, “The only way you can play defense is not to avoid the pressure the tackle is putting on you. You can’t go around him–if you do, you will miss what you’re after. You’ve got to fight through the pressure.”

The reason the devil is putting pressure on you is because God’s got a blessing coming for you! So when pressure comes from every side, face it and get happy right in the middle of it! The devil is saying, “Hey, give up and just go around.” You say, “No. I am not going around. I am going through this tackle!”

Confession: The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet ,and he will make me walk upon my high places. (Habakkuk 3:19)

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ENJOYING THE TRIP

Yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1Peter1:8)

Believing is always accompanied by joy.

Mark Hankins

Rejoicing activates faith; joy accompanies believing. In 1Peter1:8, 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 within expressible 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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THE ATTITUDE OF FAITH

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)

The last of all human freedoms is the ability to choose one’s own attitude regardless of circumstances.
Viktor Frankl

I once read a book about a man named Viktor Frankl. Viktor was a Jew in a Nazi concentration camp in Word War II. He was constantly badgered harassed, beaten, and made to carry burdens. Viktor said that he could look into people’s eyes and see when they were ready to give up and die.

Viktor Frankl determined that there was one thing the Nazis could not control in his life; they could not control his attitude. He said, “The last of all human freedoms is the ability to choose one’s own attitude regardless of circumstances.” In other words, he couldn’t control everything, but he could control himself and his attitude.

You may not be able to control what has happened to you in life, but you can control your attitude. God will get you to your destination if you maintain a spirit of faith.

Confession: I have an attitude of faith. I will not allow hopelessness to dominate my life. I believed, and therefore have I spoken. (2 Corinthians 4:13)

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GOD’S OSCARS FOR ACTORS OF FAITH

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is an act.
Mark Hankins

The spirit of faith has an attitude and an action. Believing is the attitude and speaking is the action. When we keep our speaker connected to our believer, the spirit of faith carries us to our divine destiny.

Hebrews 11 lists some heroes of faith. The phrase “by faith” is used 20 times in reference to men and women who did the will of God. They received the promises of God in their generation, and they are influencing the lives of millions of believers even today.

The spirit of faith is necessary to do the will of God and finish the course He has for you. God wants you to finish your course, keep the faith, serve your generation according to the will of God, and finish with joy. (2 Timothy 4:7; Acts 13:36)

Roll out the red carpet and get the camera ready! It’s time for some more actors of faith. The awards are eternal!

Confession: I am an actor of faith! My speaker is connected to my believer. The spirit of faith is carrying me to my divine destiny!

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EXPERIENCING THE GLORY FOR YOURSELF

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy GLORY, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. (Psalm 63:1-2)

God wants to do something in you that will shock a generation!
Mark Hankins

When Paul stood before King Agrippa he explained his experience with glory of the risen Christ. He said, “I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun…”(Acts 26:13)

I remember when I was 17 years old, I cried out and said, “God, show me your glory. I can’t live off my parents’ experience, sermon, or vision.” I wanted to experience the glory of God for myself.

God wants you to experience more glory this year than you did last year. Paul said every believer should not only have an initial experience with the glory, but should go from glory to glory.

Confession: But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

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