Living By Faith

FOCUSED AND CLEAR

Your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians… (Ephesians 1:18 The Message Bible)

We can rise above the turbulent atmosphere of our past experiences.
Mark Hankins

NASA launched the Hubble telescope in 1990 and it revolutionized the study of our universe! Many mysteries of our universe have been revealed by the Hubble’s discoveries. However, with everything that we are coming to understand about the universe, there is still so much more to be discovered.

In Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul described the spirit of wisdom and revelation as the “eyes of your understanding being enlightened.” The spirit of wisdom and revelation makes it possible for us to see the mystery or unseen realities of our redemption.

In Christ we have been launched into heavenly places to be able to clearly see God’s plans and purposes. When the spirit of wisdom launches us into orbit for a closer view or clearer picture, we can then see what God sees!

Confession: My eyes are focused and clear. I can see exactly what God is calling me to do. I am grasping the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for Christians! (Ephesians 1:18 The Message Bible)

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GOD PERFORMS THINGS FOR YOU

For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. (Job 23:14)

The champion enters the ring with a different attitude than the challenger. Mark Hankins

Theologians tell us that the trials we read about in Job lasted less than a year. Job had a bad year, but when you read the last chapter, you find that the Lord gave him twice as much as he had before! Job had some challenges, but he came out the champion!

The Lord said it to me this way: “You will have challenges in life, but you are not the challenger; you are the champion.” The challenger is trying to get something. The champion, on the other hand, says, “I’ve got something.” Every champion faces challengers who try to steal their victory. Satan is the god of this world who does nothing but lie, destroy, and steal. He’s a challenger, but a defeated one!

Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation [difficulty]: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) You aren’t exempt from challenges. However once you know who you are in Christ, and understand that Christ is in you, you will always overcome. Satan may cause some issues, but like Job, you can smile and say, “God performs things for me!”

Confession: I have the attitude of a champion! In every challenge, I am an overcomer because Christ overcame the world and He dwells in me! (John 16:33)

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REASON TO SHOUT

Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. (Numbers 23:20-21)

Once you know your covenant and who you are in Christ, there will be the shout of a king! Mark Hankins

If the Israelites were shouting under the Old Covenant, we have even more of a reason to shout under the New Covenant. You are in an even better position in Christ than the Israelites were in the Old Covenant. What does this mean to you? If you have been made the righteousness of God in Christ, God sees no iniquity in you. You have a reason to shout!

It’s time to get the Bible out and say, “Devil, if you can’t read, let me read it to you!” The communication of your faith will become effectual as you acknowledge every good thing that is in you in Christ! Hallelujah!

Confession: I have a reason to shout! I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ and God sees no iniquity in me! Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place! (2 Corinthians 2:14)

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THE WORD WORKS

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

The Word will cut controlling influences off of your life. Mark Hankins

Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, will reach into your soul and cut things out that are hindering you from fulfilling the will of God. Nothing can separate your soul and your spirit but the Word. God says that you are a new creature in Christ and that you have been made righteous and triumphant, but your mind is in disagreement; your circumstances are in disagreement; your feelings are in disagreement. But the Word of God is like a sharp sword and it will cause your circumstances and feelings to agree with God.

The Word will cut things out of your soul that are not in agreement with God’s Word. What happens when you begin to acknowledge who you are in Christ? The Word will cut controlling influences off of your life!

Confession: I am who God says I am. I am an overcomer. I have been made righteous. I am the righteousness of God in Christ!

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SEE YOURSELF IN CHRIST

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 4:23-24)

If you keep looking into the Word, it will save, deliver, and heal your soul. Mark Hankins

How do you become a doer of the Word? You look into the mirror of the Word, which James calls “the perfect law of liberty.” God can tell you over and over what He has done for you in Christ but as long as you continue to see yourself as a failure, unrighteous, unworthy, defeated, sick, or poor, you will stay in that condition. When you look into the perfect law of liberty, there is a reflection and you see yourself in Christ. You see what God has done for you in Christ and suddenly, you see yourself free!

When you get up in the morning, look up about ten “in Christ” scriptures. Then look in the mirror and acknowledge them. When you have a lunch break, open your Bible. If you have a fifteen-minute break, open your Bible. This is what it takes to be blessed.

Look in the mirror–the perfect law of liberty. When you look into the mirror of the Word, it will make you free. One translation says, “Look and keep on looking!”

Confession: I have been given exceeding great and precious promises in God’s Word. I have His divine nature!

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