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UNFORGIVENESS: THE BIGGEST ENEMY TO FAITH

And when ye stand praying forgive, if ye have aught against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Mark 11:25-26)

Faith works by love. A step out of love is a step out of God.

Kenneth E. Hagin

The biggest enemy to faith is unforgiveness. In Mark 11, Jesus was talking about moving mountains. He said all things are possible in prayer. However, He pointed out that if you don’t deal with unforgiveness, none of your praying, your saying, or your faith would work!

If someone really did you wrong, you must forgive that person by releasing him or her of any unforgiveness on your part. You must not speak against that person or attack that individual. You must let go of your unforgiveness. When you release that person, forgive. And when you forgive, something positive will happen inside of you!

Confession: I must forgive others in order for God to forgive me. A step out of love is a step out of God. I choose to release any unforgiveness and offense to the Lord. I realize that for my faith to work, I must forgive and walk in love!

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A MAN IN CHRIST IS A NEW CREATURE

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (John 5:11-12)

A man in Christ is a new kind of man—a new breed or species that

 never existed before!

Mark Hankins

The Greek word translated “new” means “unheard of before.” It means new in quality or kind. A man in Christ is a new kind of man, a new breed, or species that never existed before. You are not just a forgiven sinner; you are a new creation with a new kind of life. A man in Christ is a partaker of the life and nature of God.

James Stewart put it this way, “This life which flows from God into man is something totally different from anything experienced on the natural plane. It is supernatural life. It makes man a new creation. It is not the intensification of powers already possessed, but the sudden emergence of an entirely new and original element.”

Confession: God has given me eternal life. I am not just a forgiven sinner, but a new creation with a new kind of life!

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ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ…wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians 1:3,6)

You must take your place in Christ and hold yourself there!

Mark Hankins

You have been accepted in the beloved, so you do not need to live with a sense of rejection all the time, feeling like you do not quite measure up. You have been accepted in the beloved, and you are in Christ. God accepts you, and He loves you.

All the promises of God in Him are yes and amen to the glory of God by us! What God has done in your life will bring glory to God. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. People will say, “Who do you think you are? You think you can act like Christ?” You say, “Exactly. He lives in me, and I am putting Him on.”

It does not happen overnight. It is a process that matures daily. You put Him on, and it begins to affect every area of your life. What you used to be just disappears!

Confession: The person I used to be does not exist anymore. I am a brand-new person. Christ lives in me!

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HE DEALT WITH THE ROOT

Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. (Exodus 14:13)

“If you allow the memory of your past to continue, it is just as bad as if those things were still there.” – Mark Hankins

It was hard for Moses and the children of Israel to believe God would destroy their enemies because it was a radical change.  They had been under bondage 400 years, but God said, “Today I will stop it, and you will never see your enemies again!”

God said that He would destroy your past. Old things have been dealt with through the power of the Gospel and the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. You have a brand-new identity in Christ! The power of the Gospel will cause the enemies that have hounded you and dominated you for years to never dominate your life again.

You have to declare who you are in Christ, and suddenly, the death and resurrection of Christ will become a reality and swallow everything that has tried to hold you in bondage!

Confession: I am a new creature in Christ. Old things are passed away. My past is forgotten. God is doing a brand-new thing in my life! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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ALL IS FORGIVEN

I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. (Isaiah 43:25-26)

“Never look back if you want the power of God in your life.” -Smith Wigglesworth

In Earnest Hemingway’s short story, “The Capital of the World,” he tells the story about a father and his teenage son who lived in Spain. Their relationship became strained and eventually shattered when the son ran away from home. The father began a long journey in search of his lost and rebellious son. Finally, as a last resort, he put an ad in the Madrid newspaper. His son’s name was Paco, a very common name in Spain. The ad simply read, “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the Madrid newspaper office tomorrow at noon. All is forgiven. I love you.”  The next day at noon, in front of the newspaper office, there were 800 “Pacos” all seeking forgiveness.

God is in the forgiveness business. His forgiveness includes the total erasure from His memory that sin was ever committed. He does this for His own sake so that He can bless us the way He wants!

Confession: I believe that God has forgiven me. If God does not remember what I have done wrong, then I will erase it from my memory as well! (Psalm 32:1)

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