Living By Faith

START DRILLING

The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

When you drill into the phrase, “in Christ,” it swallows up your past, your failures, and your old identity.
Mark Hankins

There is a story about a strange happening in South Louisiana at Lake Peigneur. Texaco was drilling for oil in the Lake and the drill got stuck at 1250 feet. It began to list badly so they abandoned it. From the shore, they watched it sink from sight. Meanwhile, men working in a salt mine under the lake noticed it was beginning to flood, so they also escaped. On the surface, a whirlpool threatened some fishermen, eventually pulling in some barges and a tug associated with the drilling. The whirlpool grew in size until it pulled in 65 acres of land. An oil rig, a salt mine, an entire lake, and 65 acres of land disappeared!

What God did for you through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ will swallow up who you used to be. Get the drill out and start drilling. Drill in Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6, Ephesians 2:4-5, and Galatians 6:14. Drill until you hit something in the realm of the Spirit that will swallow up your past!

Confession: My old man was crucified with Christ. I am no longer a slave to sin! (Romans 6:6)

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OFFICIAL IDENTIFICATION

Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you? (Acts 19:15 NKJV)

We carry the Word of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit as official identification.
Mark Hankins

Have you ever checked in for a flight and been asked for proof of identification? You can say, “Here I am. Can’t you see — this is me; I can prove that I exist. Just look.” The authorities want to see a passport or driver’s license. You cannot prove who you are without official identification.

Acts 19:13-16 tells the story of the seven sons of Sceva who tried to cast out devils in the name of Jesus “whom Paul preaches.” The demons said, “Jesus we know and Paul we know, but who are you?” Jesus had official identification in heaven and hell, and so did Paul. You and I can also know who we are and the authority that is ours in Christ.

Spiritually speaking, all of us must carry some identification to do business in the realm of the Spirit. The Word of God must be engrafted into our inner man so we know who we are in Christ. We must also carry the anointing of the Holy Spirit as the guarantee that we are who God says we are and we have what God says we have.

Confession: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. (Galatians 2:20)

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BLUEBERRIES ON YOU AND IN YOU

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in Me, and I in you. (John 14:20)

Anytime Satan tries to take a bite out of you, he hits a “blueberry.” Mark Hankins

When I order blueberry pancakes in a restaurant, I always ask this question: “Are the blueberries on the pancakes, or are the blueberries in the pancakes?” I don’t want just regular pancakes with a spoonful of blueberries on top from a can. I want the blueberries in the mix. I want the blueberries to be cooked in the pancakes, and then I want more blueberries on the pancakes. That means I can’t take a bite without hitting a blueberry!

As a born-again believer, you have the Spirit of God — the Holy Spirit — living on the inside of you. When the devil brings persecution or trouble to you, God says, “Life can’t take a bite out of you without hitting me.”

When the devil hits you, say, “Devil, what does it feel like to hit a blueberry?” The life of God is in you and upon you, so much so that if a mosquito bit you, it would fly off singing, “There’s power in the blood!”

Confession I have the life of God inside of me. I’ve got the Spirit of God living in me. Jesus lives in me. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in me! (Romans 8:11)

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RENEWING YOUR MIND

That ye put off concerning the former conversation [He’s talking about your lifestyle] the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. (Ephesians 4:22)

You won’t change the way you are living if you don’t change the way you are talking. Mark Hankins

The process of putting off the old man and putting on the new man takes place as you renew your mind and line your thinking up with the Word of God. We should always ask, “What does God say about me? What does God say about my circumstances?” We need to say what God says. We need to agree with God.

In Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul says to “put off the old man” and “put on the new man” by being “renewed in the spirit of your mind.” To put off is like taking off the old clothes, the old nature, and the old lifestyle. In other words, change the way you are living and talking.

The moment you are born again, you are a new creation, and you are created in righteousness and true holiness. You are not trying to make the new man righteous and holy. Since you have been made a partaker of the divine nature, you are to put on the new man, who is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Confession: Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. (Psalm 141:3)

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THE WORKMANSHIP OF GOD

The old condition has passed away; a new condition has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 Williams)

God would not make an unrighteous new creature because He already had an unrighteous old creature!
Mark Hankins

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Verse 18 begins, “And all things are of God,” which means this is the work of God.

The old condition from which you have been redeemed is the curse of the law, which includes poverty, sickness, confusion, fear, sin, and the devil’s domination of your life. When does the “old condition” pass away and the “new condition” come? It doesn’t happen over a process of ten or twenty years. It happens the moment you are born again because of the grace of God. The moment you are saved, you become a new creation in Christ.

God would never make an unrighteous new creature! The moment you were born again, you are in Christ, and you are a new creature. Old things are passed away and everything has become new.

Confession: I am the workmanship of God. My old condition is gone and a new condition has come. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

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