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PIONEERS IN THE GOSPEL

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:18-19)

It takes faith to forsake, follow, and forget! Mark Hankins

The spirit of faith is not afraid to leave things behind. It can be difficult to lay aside treasured items and traditional ways of thinking, but the rewards of obeying God should keep you moving forward.

Hebrews 11:27 says that by faith, Moses forsook Egypt. Abraham forsook Ur of the Chaldees to go to Canaan. (Genesis 11:31-12:9) Peter, James, and John forsook their boats and followed Jesus. (Mark 1:17-18)

God is always looking for pioneers — people who will not settle for less than God’s best. The spirit of faith will keep them moving, and those pioneers will keep expecting miracles.

Confession: I will forget those things which are behind, and reach forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus! (Philippians 3:13-14)

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A POKE THROUGH JELL-O

The Lord will give strength unto his people. (Psalm 29:11)

The spirit of faith will make a tadpole slap a whale!
Mark Hankins

On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager was the first man to fly 700 miles an hour and break the sound barrier. It was difficult to find a man willing to risk the unknown of supersonic flight. Chuck Yeager was a pioneer and became an American hero — He broke the sound barrier that everyone else had been afraid of.

Yeager said, “The real barrier wasn’t in the sky, but in our knowledge and experience of supersonic flight.” He described the supersonic flight as “sipping lemonade on the front porch” and “a poke through Jell-O.”

What barriers do you face as a Christian doing the will of God? What kind of adjustments must be made to break those barriers? Your own thinking, attitudes, and discipline must be changed in order to break the barriers. The Lord gives strength to His people. The power of God makes the greatest challenges “a poke through Jell-O.” When the barriers are broken, you will experience victory in every area of life!

Confession: The Lord has given me strength to break through any barriers I might face. I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! (Ephesians 6:10)

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BREAKING BARRIERS

For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall. (Psalm 18:28-29 NKJV)

The spirit of faith will make you swing out over hell on a cornstalk and spit in the devil’s eye!
Mark Hankins

You will need to break some barriers when you go from glory to glory and from faith to faith. You will experience many breakthroughs as you overcome the enemy and fulfill the will of God, but in order to do so you will have be sure that your candle is lit.

I have been to the First Flat-Faced Church. That is where people have tried to leap over the wall but didn’t make it. They hit the wall. They got their flat faces because they tried to leap over the wall before they got their candles lit.

David knew what it was like to face challenges, but he was always confident that the Lord was with him. He wrote in Psalm 23:4: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; thy rod
and thy staff they comfort me. David allowed God to light his candle, and that is key to making it through life’s darkest valleys.

Confession: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

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GOING WHERE YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN

And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. (Joshua 3:3-4)

If God told us everything, we would not have to walk by faith.
Mark Hankins

Joshua needed to have a spirit of faith to lead the nation of Israel out of the wilderness into the Promised Land of Canaan. The people were commanded to move from their place, keep their eyes on the ark, and follow it at a certain distance. They were going into new territory. They had never passed that way before.

It seems that God led them in increments of 2,000 cubits (or about 3/5 of a mile). God often gives us only one or two steps at a time. He tells us enough so that we can obey by faith. He doesn’t always tell us everything, but He tells us enough so that we can obey and walk by faith!

Confession: The Lord orders my steps. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delighteth in his way. (Psalm 37:23) A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9 NKJV)

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PIONEERS, SETTLERS, AND MUSEUM KEEPERS

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. (Hebrews 11:24-25)

The spirit of faith will make you leave your comfort zone. Mark Hankins

There are three kinds of people: pioneers, settlers, and museum keepers.

Museum keepers are content to dust off the memories of previous generations and talk about the exploits of the past. They live off of the experiences of others and never see God’s power operate in their own
lives.
Settlers travel for a while, but become weary of the journey and stop too soon. They get comfortable and never press on to the possibilities ahead. Some of the tribes of Israel settled too soon and never crossed the Jordan with Joshua.
Pioneers are those who venture into unknown or unclaimed territory. They are the ones who open up new areas; they prepare the way!

We should qualify as pioneers because the spirit of faith never stops pressing on! With God all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26)

Confession: The spirit of faith is a pioneer spirit. The spirit of faith in me will push out from the shore and launch into the deep at God’s Word. (Luke 5:4-5)

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