Living By Faith

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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YOUR INWARD MAN

But he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17)

Feeling is the voice of your body; reason is the voice of your mind; conscience is the voice of your spirit. Mark Hankins

You are a triune being — spirit, soul, and body — even as God is a triune being — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Your spirit is the part of you that is joined to Christ. It is the part of you that is most like God. Paul called your spirit your “inward” man. Your spirit is the hidden man, the unseen person — the real you!

Paul said to walk in the Spirit, live in the Spirit, and pray in the Spirit. What does “in the Spirit” mean? Paul was talking about an entirely different dimension or realm. Feeling is the voice of your body; reason is the voice of your mind, and conscience is the voice of your spirit.

The first step to walking in the Spirit is to pray in the Spirit. When you spend time praying in the Spirit, it helps you to walk and live in the Spirit. You also have to put on the new man. You are a new creature in Christ — but you must put on the new man by renewing your mind to the Word of God!

Confession: I am born again and my spirit is joined to Christ. I am walking in the Spirit, living in the Spirit, and praying in the Spirit!

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THE KEY TO YOUR FUTURE

And they that are Christs 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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CHANGE CLOTHES DAILY

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. (Colossians 3:10)

Acting on the Word is the simplest definition of faith. Mark Hankins

Changing clothes is not something you do once in your lifetime. You do not say, “I changed clothes twenty years ago.” No, this is a daily thing. You did not get up this morning and say, “If God wanted me to wear clothes, He would have put them on me.” That is ridiculous, isn’t it? You cannot say, “If it is the will of God, I would have clothes on today.” No, you had to get up, pick them out, and put them on.

Often people say, “If it were the will of God for me to be healed, I would be healed because God wanted it.” No, did your clothes jump on you? In other words, healing is a part of your redemption, but you need to put it on.

Some people say, “If it is the will of God for me to have money, then I would have it.” No, God did not put your clothes on you; you put them on. Likewise, you have to “put on” prosperity.  That is what belongs to you in Christ. You have to dress yourself up by acknowledging who you are in Christ.

Confession: 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)

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