Living By Faith

CLOSE THE DOOR ON THE DEVIL

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

If you have a spirit of fear, you did not get it from God! Mark Hankins

Fear opens the door to the devil. Fear is connected to a lack of power, lack of love, and mental problems. There are more than 100 different kinds of fear. These fears can be irrational, but since fear is of the devil, it does not have to be rational.

For instance, one phobia that plagues mankind is Agoraphobia. This is a fear of outdoors and open spaces. Another one is Anthropophobia; this phobia is a fear of people. There is also a phobia described as Tropophobia or fear of changes. Psychologists say that Thanatophobia, the fear of death, is the root of all fears. If you have a spirit of fear, you did not get it from God.

The Word of God breaks the spirit of fear. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.  When faith comes, fear goes.  There is faith, power, love, and mental soundness in the Word of God! Speak the Word of God with a voice of faith and fear must go!

Confession: God has not given me the spirit of fear! I have the spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind!

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IF THERE IS A MOUNTAIN IN YOUR WAY, “QUARK IT”

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)

The reason words will move a mountain is because mountains are made by words. Mark Hankins

The Time Magazine issue of February 19, 1996, had an article that caught my attention. The article, “What’s Hiding in the Quarks,” tells about the discovery of quarks that was made at the giant Tevatron accelerator at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago. 

Physicists coined the term, “Quarks” in 1994 to describe what they thought were the tiniest, most fundamental building blocks of matter. After further study, the scientists discovered that quarks may not be the most basic units of matter after all! 

What are quarks made of?  Many scientists are of the opinion that quarks are made of sound waves. I believe that is correct because it confirms what the Bible teaches. In Genesis, the phrase “And God said” is repeated over and over again. “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth… For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33:6-9)

Confession:  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. (Hebrews 11:3)

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YOUR MOUNTAIN NEEDS TO HEAR YOUR VOICE

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed… he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Mark11:23)

Any man may be changed by faith no matter how he may be fettered. Smith Wigglesworth

One day while I was praying and studying, the Holy Spirit began to give me a vision of the possibilities of some great, glorious, marvelous, and wonderful things that God had prepared for my life, but there were some “mountains” between God’s best blessings and me. He said, “If you knew what was on the other side of your mountain, you would move it!”

In Luke 17:6, Jesus uses the illustration of a “sycamine tree.” Someone once joked, “I have identified my problem, and I am sick of mine.” Sometimes things will stay around until you get sick and tired of being sick and tired, and you determine that things must change in your life. Mark 11:23 makes it clear that it is not up to God or someone else to deal with your situation, it’s up to you! Your mountain will obey you! Your mountain needs to hear your voice!

Confession: I speak to every mountain that has hindered supernatural increase in my life and command them to move. I am ready to receive God’s best blessings for me!

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MAN IS A “SPEAKING SPIRIT”

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)

Your words custom design and specifically shape your own future. Mark Hankins

I recently read an interesting article titled, “The Gift of Gab,” by Matt Catmill. He wrote that speech is a skill that makes homo sapiens a uniquely successful, powerful, and dangerous mammal. He said, “Without language, we would be only a sort of upright chimpanzee with funny feet and clever hands.”  

God created man in His own image with the capacity to speak and communicate. A Hebrew scholar once said that Genesis 2:7 could better be translated that “man became a speaking spirit.” Man was made a speaking spirit and given dominion. The power of speech was a major distinguishing factor between man and the animal kingdom.

You can see that language is unique to man. Satan also recognizes the power of spoken words and is constantly trying to get man to speak words that contaminate, defile, and destroy. We have the power to choose blessing or cursing, life or death — So choose life!

Confession: 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 19:14)

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NEVER RUN AT YOUR GIANT WITH YOUR MOUTH SHUT

This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand… that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. (1 Samuel 17:46)

Faith is released by speaking. If you are silent, you lose by default. Mark Hankins

1 Samuel 17 records the classic story of David and Goliath. The realbattle was won before David actually killed Goliath. A war of words had to be won before victory could be consummated. The story went something like this: Goliath said…David said…Goliath said…David said…David ran toward the Philistine…David prevailed over the Philistine. David won the war of words before He won the victory!

The Lord spoke these words to me as a key to killing my giants: “Never run at your giant with your mouth shut!” Before we can receive and do all that God has for us in life, there will be giants that must be conquered. As you may know, some of these giants can be quite persistent. Just keep on running at those giants with your mouth speaking the Word of God. The Word releases God’s power to win in every conflict!

Confession:And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me. (Isaiah 49:2)

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