Living By Faith

THE ANOINTING OF JESUS

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me… (Luke 4:18)

Jesus had to lay aside deity powers, humble Himself as a servant, and become a man in order to go to the cross. Mark Hankins

Jesus had to lay aside His powers of deity and become a man. He is God in the flesh, but He could not use His deity powers. It would have been illegal for Him to die on the cross and become the last Adam if He had used His deity powers. He did not use anything that you and I do not have available today.

The only thing He used was the Word and the Holy Spirit. He was tempted in ways like you are. (Hebrews 4:15) He felt the same pressures you feel. He felt the same loneliness at times. He dealt with those challenges with the Word and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus found Himself in Isaiah 61 one day as He was reading through the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was prophesying something that was going to happen 1,000 years in the future. Jesus said, “That is Me right there where Isaiah said ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me. He has anointed me’…This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” (Luke 4:18-21)

Confession: The same anointing that was upon Jesus is inside of me. I am in Christ, the Anointed One!

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IN CHRIST: THE ANOINTED ONE

For in him we live, and move, and have our being. (Acts 17:28)

If you want to find God’s address, look inside! Mark Hankins

God is not far from any one of us. T.L. Osborn said, “No other religion can say what the Christian can say, ‘My God lives in me.’” No other religion can say that because their god is always far off.

The word “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. The word “Christ” means “the Messiah” or “the Anointed One.” The reality of your redemption is simply “in Him, in Christ.” If you are in Him, you are in the Anointed One and His anointing flows in you.

It does not take long for the anointing and the reality of the resurrected Christ and the power of God to rise up out of your spirit, hit your soul, go out of your hands, run the devil off, and heal the sick. It does not take long because you are in the Anointed One — you are in Christ — and the Anointed One is in you!

Confession: I am anointed. I have an unction from the Holy One. I am not confused. I know what I need to do, I know where I need to be, and I know who I need to be with. In Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are open for me!

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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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MASTER YOUR BODY

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:27)

You are a spirit; you have a soul, and you are living in a body. Mark Hankins

The Bible says your spirit pulls against your flesh, and your flesh pulls against your spirit. There are things your body wants to do that your spirit knows are not right. The Bible calls that “the lust of the flesh” in Galatians 5:6. Throughout the fifth chapter of Galatians, Paul lists the works of the flesh. Your spirit desires to seek after God, to walk with God, and to know God.

Your body will dominate you if it gets a chance. Sometimes your body does not want to go to church. Your body might be saying, “Let’s stay home. I am tired. I don’t feel good.” You have to say, “No, body, you are going to church. Get up right now!” You need to get your body moving! Paul said, “I keep under my body and I bring it under subjection.” In other words, he said, “I master my body. I control it.”

Confession: I keep my body under and bring it into subjection. I am going to church, I am going to read my Bible, and I am going to pray!

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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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