Living By Faith

ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ…wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians 1:3,6)

You must take your place in Christ and hold yourself there!
Mark Hankins

You have been accepted in the beloved, so you do not need to live with a sense of rejection all the time, feeling like you do not quite measure up. You have been accepted in the beloved, and you are in Christ. God accepts you, and He loves you.

All the promises of God in Him are yes and amen to the glory of God by us! What God has done in your life will bring glory to God. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. People will say, “Who do you think you are? You think you can act like Christ?” You say, “Exactly. He lives in me, and I am putting Him on.”

It does not happen overnight. It is a process that matures daily. You put Him on, and it begins to affect every area of your life. What you used to be just disappears!

Confession: The person I used to be does not exist anymore. I am a brand-new person. Christ lives in me!

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PRESS ON

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

There are some good things that are in you that you need to acknowledge!
Mark Hankins

In tennis, baseball, or basketball, a good coach will always tell the player who missed a shot, “You do not have time to think about the last shot you missed. This game is too short, and if you keep thinking about the last shot you missed, you will get down on yourself. That will affect the rest of your game and the whole team. It will cause you to lose.” So the coach will say, “Shake it off fast! Forget about it.”

Press on to those things that are ahead. Do you know some things are just ahead for you? You must take your place in Christ and hold yourself in that place. Paul said, “Acknowledging every good thing that is in you in Christ.” There are some good things that are in you that you need to acknowledge. Confess them. Your faith becomes effective when you acknowledge those things. “Acknowledge” means you have to say it.

Confession: I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I have been made right with God. In Christ Jesus, I am righteous. I am a new creation in Him. It is so good to be in Christ!

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STAND IN YOUR FAITH

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

The devil cannot destroy you anytime he wants — he needs your cooperation.
Mark Hankins

Many times people self-destruct. I do not believe the devil can kill you anytime he wants. If so, you would already be dead because he does not like you, and he would like to destroy you. 1 Peter 5:8 says the devil goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. That means he cannot devour everyone. The next verse says, “Whom resist steadfast in the faith.” Another translation says, “Stand rock-like, immovable in your faith.”

Stand in your faith in what God has done for you in Christ, in who you are, and in what you have in Christ. You resist the devil. The devil cannot destroy you anytime he wants — he needs your cooperation.

You have to get up each morning acknowledging every good thing that is in you in Christ! Resist the devil! Stand strong in your faith by recognizing who you are in Christ!

Confession: In Him I am strong! In Him I am blessed! In Him I have boldness and access to the presence of God!

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MAKING YOUR FAITH EFFECTIVE

…the acknowledging of every good thing… (Philemon 6)

God likes people to brag about who they are in Him.
Mark Hankins

There are good things in you in Christ. The apostle Paul said to “acknowledge every good thing” For your faith to become effective, you need to continually acknowledge who you are in Christ. This is not something you have acknowledged; it is something you are acknowledging. It is a continual process. Acknowledging is essential if you want your faith to work properly.

To acknowledge means to recognize, to think about, and to be conscious of. Acknowledging means to daily declare who you are in Christ and what you have in Christ. It also means to walk and live in the light of who you are in Christ.

God likes people to brag about who they are in Him. Paul boasted in the cross because of what God had done for him in Christ. This is not boasting in yourself, but in what God has done for you and can do through you because of your union with Christ!

Confession: I was crucified with Christ. I died with Him. I was buried with Him. But on the third day, I was made righteous, made alive with him, raised with Him, seated with Him, and made triumphant with Him!

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HAVE A BOLD CONFESSION

…full recognition and appreciation and understanding and precise knowledge of every good [thing] that is ours in [our identification with] Christ Jesus. (Philemon 6 Amplified)

Never run at your giant with your mouth shut!
Mark Hankins

You need a bold confession of who you are in Christ. Faith must have a bold confession in order to work properly. E.W. Kenyon said, “The reason that the majority of Christians are weak, though they are earnest, yet they are weak, is because they have never dared to make a confession of what they are in Christ.”

In 1 Samuel 17, David made some bold declarations as he ran toward Goliath. He was no longer just thinking of himself; he had identified with Almighty God. He had declared his covenant with God. David did not go to the battlefield and say, “I am going to see what will happen today.” No, David declared ahead of time that the victory was his.

You must acknowledge who you are in Christ for your faith to work. Just like David, you too can declare ahead of time that victory is yours in Christ!

Confession: Victory is mine in Christ! I am identified with Christ, the triumph of Christ, the risen Christ. I reign in victory with Him!

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