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THE ANOINTING OF JESUS

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me… (Luke 4:18)

Jesus had to lay aside deity powers, humble Himself as a servant, and become a man in order to go to the cross.
Mark Hankins

Jesus had to lay aside His powers of deity and become a man. He is God in the flesh, but He could not use His deity powers. It would have been illegal for Him to die on the cross and become the last Adam if He had used His deity powers. He did not use anything that you and I do not have available today.

The only thing He used was the Word and the Holy Spirit. He was tempted in ways like you are. (Hebrews 4:15) He felt the same pressures you feel. He felt the same loneliness at times. He dealt with those challenges with the Word and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus found Himself in Isaiah 61 one day as He was reading through the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was prophesying something that was going to happen 1,000 years in the future. Jesus said, “That is Me right there where Isaiah said ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me. He has anointed me’…This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” (Luke 4:18-21)

Confession: The same anointing that was upon Jesus is inside of me. I am in Christ, the Anointed One!

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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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THE KEY TO YOUR FUTURE

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (Galatians 5:24)

Most Christians allow their bodies to have their spirits gagged and tied up in the basement.
Mark Hankins

The part of you that is born again is your spirit. It receives eternal life, but you still must do something with your mind and your body. It is possible to be saved or born again and still have your body out of whack. Your mind can still be controlled with wrong thinking. You will stay frustrated if your body or your mind is dominating your spirit.

Paul said that they that are in Christ have crucified the flesh with its affections. Crucifixion is painful. This means that you deny your body certain things it wants to do, wants to say, and wants to consume. If you do just the opposite of what your body wants, you will be pleasing God.

The Holy Spirit wants to strengthen your spirit. Then your inner man will rise up and tell your body to shut up and line up with the Word. Your spirit man — your inward man — will do this!

Confession: I am strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit in my inner man. Christ dwells in my heart by faith and I am rooted and grounded in love. I am filled with all the fullness of God! (Ephesians 3:16-19)

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EXPERIENCE JESUS

For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. (2 Corinthians 5:13)

Religion and tradition bring death; Jesus brings life and a living experience with Him.
Mark Hankins

In 2 Corinthians 5:13, Paul simply said, “If we have lost our minds, it is God’s fault.” Many people thought Paul was crazy because he had such a radical experience with Jesus Christ. His life turned in a totally different direction. I am sure his mama, daddy, his kinfolks, and his old friends thought he was crazy and had lost his mind.

I believe your experience with Jesus ought to be so strong and put such a dividing line in your life that your old friends do not even want to be around you anymore! They will say, “We do not want to be around him. He is always talking about Jesus and wanting to go to church.”

Have you ever had the Holy Spirit come upon you with such revelation of the goodness of God and what God has done for you in Christ that you feel like you have lost your mind? You may want to shout, jump, run, and roll in the floor!

Confession: I am beside myself because of what God has done for me in Jesus! Oh, the possibilities that are mine in Jesus!

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REJOICING: A FORM OF HUMILITY

God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6)

Rejoicing is a form of humility.
Mark Hankins

In 2 Samuel 6, the Ark of the Covenant was coming into Jerusalem. The Bible says when the ark came into the city King David danced before the Lord with all of his might. The scripture says he threw off his royal robe and danced in his under clothes because of the glory that was coming back! David loved to be in the presence of God!

After he had danced before the Lord, David fed the entire nation. When he went to bless his household, his wife told him that he looked like a fool. She despised him in her heart because of his response to the presence of God. David responded to her by saying, “I will yet be more vile than this. I will humble myself in the sight of the people, and I will lower myself in my own sight.” (2 Samuel 6:22)

David’s rejoicing was a form of humility. If you are more concerned with what people think about you than what God thinks about you, you will never walk in victory. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up!

Confession: I will rejoice in the Lord and humble myself before Him because He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

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