Living By Faith

LEGAL RELEASE

You were not redeemed with silver and gold… but with the precious blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Only the blood of Jesus was legal payment for your freedom.

Mark Hankins

No amount of money could buy your release from Satan, sin, or the past. Only the blood of Jesus was legal payment for your freedom. If Jesus paid so high a price for your release, you should not remain behind bars. The prison door is open. You can simply walk out when you see what God, in Christ, has done for you.

You were a prisoner, but now you are free. You do not have to hide or sneak around the rest of your life in fear. You have been released, made righteous, and given eternal life — all legally!

The Gospel of Christ is the power of God. God has released you by His power working in Christ on your behalf. The prison door is open! No filing – no sneaking – no running – no swamps – no dogs. It is not your effort. It is God’s gift to every man in Christ. Christ “hath” redeemed you. You can walk out of your bondage into glorious liberty. You are legally released. Hold your head up high and boldly walk out of bondage in Jesus’ name!

Confession: I have not been redeemed with silver and gold but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ! The blood of Jesus was legal payment for my freedom!

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UNDERSTANDING REDEMPTION

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.  (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are the center of the Gospel!

Mark Hankins

The simple definition of redemption is, “Freedom through the payment of a price.” Webster’s Dictionary defines the word redeem as: To buy back; to re-purchase; to get back; to recover; to ransom; to pay off (a mortgage or note); to liberate from captivity; to deliver; to reclaim.”

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says, First of all I delivered unto you.”  The Revised Standard Version translates this, “as of first importance.  The matter of first importance is what God did for us in Christ Jesus in the great plan of redemption.

Redemption is an accomplished fact in Christ. Jesus said, You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32) The truth will not help you if you do no not know it. You must see what God has done for you. In John 16:13, Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. God wants you to be free.  He has given you His Holy Spirit to show you the things of Christ.

Confession: In Christ Jesus, I am redeemed. I have been liberated from the captivity of sin. I am delivered!

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YOUR PLACE IN CHRIST

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7)

Take your place in Christ and get ready for a front-row seat for the

 glory of God!

Mark Hankins 

When Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, the first thing he said to Jesus was, “Who are thou, Lord?” (Acts 9:5) The second thing he said to Jesus was, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (v. 6) Saul, who became Paul, then spent the rest of his life finding out who Jesus was and doing what Jesus wanted him to do.  Paul coined a phrase that is the signature of his letters: “in Christ.”

The Apostle Paul used the phrase in Christ, in Him, and in Whom over one hundred-thirty times. God sees you in Christ, but you must see yourself in Him. You are a new creature in Christ. In Him you are righteous now, blessed now, healed now, free now, forgiven now, and victorious now!

Take your place in Christ and get ready for a front-row seat for the glory of God!  Experiencing the glory and goodness of God is not just for a select few believers.  God has a reserved seat for you with your name on it!

Confession: I am taking my place in Christ!  In Him I am the righteousness of God. In Him I am triumphant! In Him, I am blessed. In Him I am redeemed.  In Him, I have a heritage an identity and an inheritance!

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MAKING ADJUSTMENTS

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

 (Philippians 2:13)

When you are born again, you move out of the devil’s territory and you are relocated to a new place in Christ. Mark Hankins

Throughout the Bible, we see God moving men and women into the proper orbit to be used by Him. You can see this in the life of Abraham. Abraham had to do some moving. He had to make some adjustments so he could receive and transmit. God is constantly working with people to change their thinking, speaking, and acting, in order to open up the miraculous for them.

God wants to bless you. He wants to make you a blessing. He has some “rockets” to help you move into position to see His glory. He has given His Word, the Holy Spirit, and the five-fold ministry gifts to help you make adjustments. It takes some changes to get the glory, and it takes the glory to get some changes. You are being changed so you can fit and function in the proper orbit and realize your full potential in Christ.

Confession: It is God that is working in me both to will and to do of his good pleasure. He is changing my thinking, speaking, and acting. I am being changed so that I can realize my full potential in Christ!

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VICTORY IN CHRIST

The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto

 the simple. (Psalm 119:130)

You are who God says you are; you can do what God says you can do; you can have what God says you can have!

Mark Hankins

My dad and mom pastored a full gospel church in West Columbia, Texas for more than 50 years.  When my parents first moved to West Columbia, I was only a year old and my older brother, Mike, was four. Mom was sick and mentally tormented for two years. Dad not only pastored the church, but also had the pressure of all the family responsibilities. Dad began to have heart trouble. The church was small and struggling, and we were poor.

However, in the middle of this struggle a man gave my dad some books on the authority of the believer, the integrity of God’s Word, and who you are in Christ.  Dad began to read and study the material and gained a new understanding of God’s Word. Dad began to speak the Word to Mom and had her repeat it after him. She began to say, “I am who God says I am. I have what God says I have. I can do what God says I can do!” As my parents saw who they were in Christ and spoke the Word, faith arose in their hearts. They knew that victory belonged to them in every area of their lives.

Confession: Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

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