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THE LAW OF SUBSTITUTION

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then we’re all dead. (2 Corinthians 5:14)

Jesus was not a martyr; He was a substitute, one man who died for every man.
Mark Hankins

Jesus took our place. He took our curse and died our death. He took our condition so that we could have His condition. He was identified with us. We were there in His death and resurrection, because He died for us, we died with Him. Because He was raised for us, we were raised with Him. Everything Jesus did, He did for us and it is credited to our account as if we did it. Substitution progresses to identification and union with Christ.

In the four Gospels, a disproportionate amount of space is given to the actual events of the death and resurrection of Christ. Every sermon in the book of Acts and all of Paul’s epistles center on what happened in the death and resurrection of Christ. You can get anything you need from this event. Healing, prosperity, joy, victory — whatever you need — you can get from the fact that, “I was crucified with Christ. He took my place because He was my substitute. He took my condition.”

Confession: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

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THE LAW OF IDENTIFICATION

Ye must be born again. (John 3:7)

What Satan did in Adam, God reversed in Christ.
Mark Hankins

The whole Bible is really about two men: the first Adam and the last Adam. Adam is the old man, and Christ is the new man. As we shared the same identical condition with Adam, we now share the same identical condition with Christ (Romans 5 and 6).

You can find Adam’s condition in whatever language you speak – Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Swahili, or English. Anywhere you go, you can still find Adam talking. He is saying, “I am sick. I am poor. I am confused. I am depressed. I want to kill myself. I want to kill some- body else.” You can find Adam’s language everywhere because the whole human race is identified with Adam. You can trace your family tree all the way back to Adam.

The Law of Identification is “Adam in Christ.” One man got us into this mess, and one man can get us out. Your experience with Jesus can be so real it changes your identity! The second birth, when you are born again, puts you in the new Adam and you are a new creation!

Confession: Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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GOD IS ALL YOU NEED

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7)

When you get a revelation of who Christ is, you will recognize you are in union with Him.
Mark Hankins

In Exodus 33:18-23, Moses asked the Lord for help in leading His people. He said, “Lord, I want You to show me your glory. ” God told Moses, “There is a place by me. When I pass by, I am going to put you in a cleft of the rock. When my glory passes by, you will not see anything except my back parts.”

The Bible says that when God passed by, He said, “My glory is made up of all of my goodness. I am going to make all of my goodness pass before you, and I am going to proclaim the name of the Lord. I am going to pronounce my name for you.” In that place in the rock, in the glory of God, there are two main ingredients: the goodness of God and the revelation of who God is.

Climb into that place in Christ and the devil cannot harm you. Climb up into the grace of God, into the righteousness that is yours.

Confession: You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7 NKJV)

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START DRILLING

The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

When you drill into the phrase, “in Christ,” it swallows up your past, your failures, and your old identity.
Mark Hankins

There is a story about a strange happening in South Louisiana at Lake Peigneur. Texaco was drilling for oil in the Lake and the drill got stuck at 1250 feet. It began to list badly so they abandoned it. From the shore, they watched it sink from sight. Meanwhile, men working in a salt mine under the lake noticed it was beginning to flood, so they also escaped. On the surface, a whirlpool threatened some fishermen, eventually pulling in some barges and a tug associated with the drilling. The whirlpool grew in size until it pulled in 65 acres of land. An oil rig, a salt mine, an entire lake, and 65 acres of land disappeared!

What God did for you through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ will swallow up who you used to be. Get the drill out and start drilling. Drill in Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6, Ephesians 2:4-5, and Galatians 6:14. Drill until you hit something in the realm of the Spirit that will swallow up your past!

Confession: My old man was crucified with Christ. I am no longer a slave to sin! (Romans 6:6)

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THE HOPE OF MANKIND

For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead. (2 Corinthians 5:14)

When you see what God has done for you in Christ, the reality of redemption will swallow up your old identity.
Mark Hankins

How could Jesus Christ, one man, die on the cross and His death be for every man? It is simply a law of identification. We were all identified with one man, Adam, and affected by him. God simply took the same law that allowed one man to mess up everyone, and allowed one man, Jesus Christ, to die for everyone.

There is no hope for man outside of the blood of Jesus and His death, burial, and resurrection. A person has to be born again if he is going to get out of Adam. This changes your identity. No longer can you identify with defeat because you are identified with the triumph of Christ. No longer can you identify with failure, sickness, and bondage because you are identified with Christ. His victory is your victory! His life is your life! His blessing is your blessing! Everything that God put in Him now comes into you. You were identified with Adam before, but you are not in Adam now – you are in Christ!

Confession: I am born again! The blood of Jesus and the power of the Gospel has changed my life! I identify with the triumph and blessing of Christ!

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