Living By Faith

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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GET YOUR WEAPONS OUT

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

The moment you are born again, I am convinced that the devil puts a target on you. Mark Hankins

You have to get the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus, and the Word out and use them. You have to get the Word in your mouth, get it engrafted inside of you, and put on the armor of God. Put on your helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, Gospel shoes, and shield of faith to stop every fiery dart. Then get the sword of the Word of God out and say, “Alright, devil, I am ready for you now!”

Jesus told Peter, “Satan has desired to have you…but I have prayed for you.” (Luke 22:31-32) This is not meant to scare you, but make you aware.

Jesus is praying for you! You have the power of the blood. You have the cross. You have the resurrection. You have the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Greater One lives on the inside of you!

Confession: I put on the armor of God and withstand the devil. I have the power of the blood of Jesus and the anointing of the Holy Spirit working in my life! The Greater One lives inside of me!

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WINNING THE WAR

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

When you get in Christ you are introduced to a whole new realm— the realm of God! Mark Hankins

Paul said to put off the former lifestyle, your old conversation, and your old way of living and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Evidently this change doesn’t happen instantly when you are saved, because he was talking to Spirit-filled Christians. There is a battle between your born-again spirit and your unrenewed mind.

How are you going to win this war? You are going to have to have your weapons ready. What are your weapons? They are the blood, the Word, and the name of Jesus. You also have another help, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which destroys every yoke of bondage. You might think that all you need is a vacation when what you really need is the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit breaking that yoke off of your soul and your mind!

Confession: I put off my former lifestyle and renew my mind to the Word of God. The blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit destroy every yoke of bondage in my life!

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EXCESSIVE CELEBRATION

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)

There is no penalty for excessive celebration in the kingdom of God! Mark Hankins

You can make a withdrawal from your salvation account with joy. The wells of salvation are reservoirs of healing and blessing. Joy is your bucket to draw out your blessing. If you have great joy, you have a great bucket with which to draw much salvation.

James 1:2 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations.” He did not say that it was a joy to have multiple troubles. He said to count it joy. Look at your problems and count. One joy…two joy…three joy…then laugh at the devil! What Satan meant for evil, God is turning around for your good. God paid too high a price for your victory for you to be defeated. Ha! Ha! Ha!

One translation of James 1:2 says to count it “Maximum Joy.” I like that! Smile, laugh, jump, shout, then dance — turn it up and things will turn around!

Confession: God brought me here to have a good time– now I am going to have a good time! Hallelujah!

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EXPOSED TO THE GLORY

The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth everyone speak of his glory. (Psalm 29:9)

The glory of God has the power to produce and birth things into your life that have never existed before. Mark Hankins

I have some friends in Louisiana who raise cows. Whenever they take a cow to the auction, they have to disclose whether that cow has been “exposed” to a bull. When you get in the glory of God things are created. You will be able to conceive and new things will be born. God will put things in your spirit that you will give birth to nine months later.

The devil doesn’t want you to get in the glory because every time you come out, you are carrying something from heaven that is going to be born in this earth. Things that didn’t exist before will come into being when they are conceived in the glory of God. The devil wants you to stay religious, but when you get hungry for the glory of God, it will position you for something to be born in your life!

Confession: My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. (Psalm 84:2)

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