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THE ENGRAFTED WORD

Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)

The Word doesn’t work unless it is implanted on the inside of you. Mark Hankins

James 1:21 was written to believers. This must mean that after you are born again, your soul still isn’t saved. Your soul is made up of your mind, your will, and your emotions. Even after you are born again, you still have to get your soul saved.

James says to receive the Word with meekness. In other words, humble yourself and be teachable. The engrafted Word has the ability to save, deliver, restore, and make your soul (your mind, will, and emotions) whole.

Why does James call the Word the engrafted Word? The Word will not work for you unless it is implanted on the inside of you. How do you get it implanted? By acknowledging every good thing that is in you in Christ. In other words, you stick with it and keep feeding and meditating on the Word. God already deposited every good thing in you when you were born again, but it is up to you to acknowledge what you have in Christ.

Confession: I lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save my soul!

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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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TRIUMPH ALWAYS

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

How do you get to be tough? By acknowledging who you are and what you have in Christ.
Mark Hankins

God’s plan for you is to triumph always. Paul did not say you would never have any tough times. I like what someone said years ago, “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” Hallelujah! How do you get to be tough? By acknowledging who you are and what you have in Christ! Ephesians 6:10 tells us, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.”

God never said the enemy wouldn’t try to come against you. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.” He didn’t say you wouldn’t have any weapons formed against you, but He said the weapons couldn’t prosper! In other words, when adversity comes against you, you can declare, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper,” because your righteousness is of the Lord. You didn’t produce the righteousness you have — the Lord produced it! God produced it for you in Christ!

Confession: God always causes me to triumph in Christ. I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! No weapon formed against me shall prosper!

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RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Being righteous means you are accepted by God, have right standing with God, and are pleasing to Him.
Mark Hankins

In most churches, you wouldn’t have any trouble telling people, “Jesus died on the cross for you.” But they doubt the second half of that verse: “That we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Being righteous means that you are accepted by God, have right standing with God, and are pleasing to Him. This gives you confidence in prayer and in facing the adversary, the accuser of the brethren.

The Bible says you are an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. When you are born again, a spiritual deposit is made in you. We have talked about some of these deposits: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. The Apostle Paul begins all his letters by stating what God has done for you in Christ. After he declares what God has done for you in Christ, he declares who you are in Christ and what to do about it!

Confession: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)

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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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