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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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ACKNOWLEDGING EVERY GOOD THING

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)

Your life becomes a great testimony to others as they see the wonderful benefits that belong to the believer! Mark Hankins

No good thing comes from walking or following after the flesh. On the other hand, every good thing is available to you as you follow after the Spirit in Christ. Believers should acknowledge every good thing that is in them in Christ. 

There are many benefits that are ours in Christ. The Fenton translation of Philemon 6 says, “so that your advance in the faith may become energetic by recognition of every benefit there is for us in Christ.”  Would you like to advance in faith? You do not want to be the same next year at this time or next month at this time, do you? You need to take some steps forward by acknowledging who you are in Christ!

Confession: I am righteous in Christ. I am blessed in Christ. Victory is mine in Him. I am not trying to get it or hoping to get it, it is mine now! I am in Christ and Christ is in me!

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SOUL, BE STILL!

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10)

Get your spirit tuned up and the Holy Spirit will begin to make things clear to you. Mark Hankins

God will reveal things to you as you get your body and your mind quiet. You may finally get your body to stop, but often your mind is still going. In Psalm 46:10, the psalmist David said,“Soul, I am talking to you. Soul, be still! Be still!”

Old-timers use to call this “praying through” in the Holy Spirit. Before you make any major decision, you must pray through. You should never make any major decision based on circumstantial evidence; it should be based on what the Holy Spirit is saying to your spirit. Whether things look good or bad, once you have the witness of the Holy Spirit on the inside, it will be all right.

Paul said, “My outward man is perishing, but my inward man is renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16) So the key to your future is what is happening in your inward man.

Confession: I speak to my soul and command it to be still before the Lord. My inward man is being strengthened day by day.

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MASTER YOUR BODY

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:27)

You are a spirit; you have a soul, and you are living in a body. Mark Hankins

The Bible says your spirit pulls against your flesh, and your flesh pulls against your spirit.  There are things your body wants to do that your spirit knows are not right. The Bible calls that ” the lust of the flesh” in Galatians 5:6. Throughout the fifth chapter of Galatians, Paul lists the works of the flesh. Your spirit desires to seek after God, to walk with God, and to know God.

Your body will dominate you if it gets a chance.Sometimes your body does not want to go to church. Your body might be saying, “Let’s stay home. I am tired. I don’t feel good.” You have to say, “No, body, you are going to church. Get up right now!” You need to get your body moving! Paul said, “I keep under my body and I bring it under subjection.”  In other words, he said, “I master my body. I control it.”

Confession: I keep my body under and bring it into subjection. I am going to church, I am going to read my Bible, and I am going to pray!

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IT HAPPENS ON THE INSIDE

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,will of God. (Romans 12:2)

Your identification with Christ is the center of the power of the Gospel. Mark Hankins

Mind renewal begins with understanding your identification with Christ. Some problems in your mind or soul can be so severe that they can only be dealt with at their roots by this part of the Gospel. You will never be normal and you will never fulfill the potential God has for your life unless those problems are dealt with.

Your identification with Christ is the center of the power of the Gospel. It will rise up inside you and will hit the root of mental, emotional, or behavioral issues. No matter what has happened to you — abuse, shame, what ever it is — you can say, “I am a new creature in Christ. Christ lives in me. I forget what I used to be.”

There is miracle-working power in Christ. The world may say you will never recover. But in Christ, you can be restored. It cannot happen from the outside, but it can happen on the inside!

Confession:I am being transformed from the inside out by the renewing of my mind! I was crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me!

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