Living By Faith

THE VOICE OF FAITH

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

The Word spoken to you must be spoken through you. Mark Hankins

Faith always comes with a sound, a voice, a word. The visible was made from the invisible. Things that are seen are not made of things that can be seen. The unseen is more powerful than the seen. This is why we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Faith is the substance from which everything has been or will be made. The CottonPatch translation of Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds; it is betting your life on unseen realities.”

Everything responds to the voice of faith. The voice of faith frames our world and is hiding in the quarks of every particle of matter. The spirit of faith contains the building blocks of the will of God in our lives. All the redemptive rights and privileges that belong to us in Christ must be appropriated by faith. The authority of the believer is released through words that move mountains and make demons flee!

Confession:Now faith is the assurance(the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality-faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.   (Hebrews 11:1 AMP)

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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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THE SOUND OF FAITH

That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (Philemon 6)

We have many “wounded rabbits” in the church who need to change their sound. Mark Hankins

Several years ago, I went hunting for coyote in Arizona with a friend who was an avid hunter. We got up early in the morning, while it was still dark, and put on camouflage outfits — pants, shirt, hat, and boots. We went out on a mountainside and sat on the ground under a big bush, with camouflage netting wrapped around us. My friend began to call the coyotes with a little wooden call that made a loud, squealing noise that mimicked the sound of a wounded rabbit. When the coyotes heard the squeal of the hurt rabbit, they would come for what they thought was a nice meal.

We have many woundedrabbitsin the church calling up the coyotesof failure.  Their wounded rabbit call attracts the devil, and he comes to devour them for lunch! By changing your sound to a bold declaration of who you are in Christ Jesus, you will begin to attract the blessings of God in a greater measure.

Confession: I am who God says I am. I have what God says I have. I can do what God says I can do. I boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Hebrews 13:6) 

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THE WORD OF FAITH

The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word. of faith, which we preach. (Romans 10:8)

The language of redemption is the language of faith. Mark Hankins

The language of redemption is what the Apostle Paul called “the word of faith” in Romans 10:8-10. The vocabulary of salvation makes a sound that releases the power of God. We must learn to speak the language of redemption with the vocabulary of salvation! 

The language of redemption speaks of what happened in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and what He is doing for us right now: interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. We must learn what happened when Jesus took His blood into Heaven and purchased our eternal redemption!

The phrase “Christ hath redeemed us” in Galatians 3:13 is past tense, which means it has already been taken care of in Christ. He hathblessed us. He hath healed us. He hathdelivered us. These are all past tense. Since He hath, by faith we now have. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is.” In Christ, we must learn a new language – the language of “Now,” the language of God. 

ConfessionI will speak the language of redemption, which is the language of faith.  “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)

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