Living By Faith

REVEAL THINGS TO COME

For he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. (John 16:13)

If you hang out with the Holy Ghost, He will show you things to come about your life and future. Mark Hankins

What does it mean, “Whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak”? Who does the Holy Spirit hang out with? He hangs out with the Father and the Son, so whatever He hears them say is what He says. Verse 13 concludes,“and he will shew you things to come.”

If you want to know what is happening, you do not have to call the psychic network and ask, “What do you see in my future?” I see you going broke if you stay on that line very long! Four dollars a minute, yet you come to church and put in a dollar. You need another slap! You would pay four dollars a minute to talk to a lying devil? If it’s not a devil, it’s a fool who looks under cards! When someone from Louisiana calls they say, “I see squirrel hunting in your future. I see crawdads in your future.” That’s ridiculous!

Be still and get with the Holy Ghost; talk to Him. Worship God and worship Jesus, then say, “Holy Spirit, help me read the Word. Show me things to come. I don’t want to miss the will of God for my life. Help me.”

Confession: The Holy Spirit is my Helper. As I listen, He will show me the will of God for my life!

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SUBSTITUTION, IDENTIFICATION, UNION

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. (Romans 10:9-10)

Your identification with Christ is activated by your identical confession of faith of who you are in Christ.
Mark Hankins

Everything Jesus did, He did for you; it is set to the credit of your account as though you did it. This is the progression from substitution to identification and union with Christ. When someone is born again, He is a new creature in Christ Jesus; old things are passed away and everything is new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) God would not make an unrighteous new creature. If you are saved, you must be righteous.

When Jesus was raised from the dead, you were justified or declared righteous. You could even say that Jesus was not raised from the dead until you were declared righteous. The penalty for sin was paid in full and God declared you righteous. This is the reason the Gospel is good news to every person!

Confession: The penalty for sin was paid in full and God has declared me righteous!

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SHOUT IT OUT

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. (Romans 1:16)

Everything changes when you begin to understand who you are in Christ and begin to act like the Bible is true.
Mark Hankins

The company that makes Shout detergent uses the slogan: “For those tough stains, you have to ‘Shout’ them out!” I couldn’t agree more. Make sure you know what you are shouting about and let it rip!

Smith Wigglesworth said, “Some people would be giants in faith if they just had a shout.” Faith shouts while the walls are still standing. He also said, “You need to see how wonderful you are in God and how helpless you are without Him.”

Mom ran around the church in West Columbia, Texas, for many years. It is much larger now than it was when I was a child. More educated and prosperous people joined the congregation, but she would still say, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!” She continued to shout, “Woooooo!” and ran around the church. The only thing that changed over the years is that in the later years, I would run with her!

Confession: God has brought me up out of a horrible pit, and out of the miry clay. He set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings! He has put a new song in my mouth! My mouth is full of His praise! (Psalm 40:2-3)

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MAKING YOUR FAITH EFFECTIVE

…the acknowledging of every good thing… (Philemon 6)

God likes people to brag about who they are in Him.
Mark Hankins

There are good things in you in Christ. The apostle Paul said to “acknowledge every good thing” For your faith to become effective, you need to continually acknowledge who you are in Christ. This is not something you have acknowledged; it is something you are acknowledging. It is a continual process. Acknowledging is essential if you want your faith to work properly.

To acknowledge means to recognize, to think about, and to be conscious of. Acknowledging means to daily declare who you are in Christ and what you have in Christ. It also means to walk and live in the light of who you are in Christ.

God likes people to brag about who they are in Him. Paul boasted in the cross because of what God had done for him in Christ. This is not boasting in yourself, but in what God has done for you and can do through you because of your union with Christ!

Confession: I was crucified with Christ. I died with Him. I was buried with Him. But on the third day, I was made righteous, made alive with him, raised with Him, seated with Him, and made triumphant with Him!

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HAVE A BOLD CONFESSION

…full recognition and appreciation and understanding and precise knowledge of every good [thing] that is ours in [our identification with] Christ Jesus. (Philemon 6 Amplified)

Never run at your giant with your mouth shut!
Mark Hankins

You need a bold confession of who you are in Christ. Faith must have a bold confession in order to work properly. E.W. Kenyon said, “The reason that the majority of Christians are weak, though they are earnest, yet they are weak, is because they have never dared to make a confession of what they are in Christ.”

In 1 Samuel 17, David made some bold declarations as he ran toward Goliath. He was no longer just thinking of himself; he had identified with Almighty God. He had declared his covenant with God. David did not go to the battlefield and say, “I am going to see what will happen today.” No, David declared ahead of time that the victory was his.

You must acknowledge who you are in Christ for your faith to work. Just like David, you too can declare ahead of time that victory is yours in Christ!

Confession: Victory is mine in Christ! I am identified with Christ, the triumph of Christ, the risen Christ. I reign in victory with Him!

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