Living By Faith

GOD’S DAREDEVILS

The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. (Daniel 11:32 NKJV)

“Exploits” are defined as, “Deeds marked by daring and excellence.” Mark Hankins

When I was about 10 years old, we played neighborhood football in my backyard.  Usually as the game progressed and the smaller boys were losing, the bigger boys would announce loudly, “We’re going to run right up the middle.” And they did!  Sometimes they ran over me!

Their challenge reminds me of David, who announced to Goliath, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand… that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” (I Samuel 17:46)  No devil, no man, and no circumstances can stop God’s divine plan for this generation. As God has declared it, we must prophesy and proclaim His power in the Earth.

He is Almighty God! He is a Mighty Warrior! As we hear and know His voice, new confidence and strength comes to us. We will arise with new boldness and declare His dare. It is time for a new generation of men and women to rise up and do great exploits!

Confession:I am rising with new confidence, boldness, and strength. With God all things are possible! All things are possible to him that believeth!(Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23)

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A POKE THROUGH JELL-O

The Lord will give strength unto his people. (Psalm 29:11)

The spirit of faith will make a tadpole slap a whale!

Mark Hankins

On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager was the first man to fly 700 miles an hour and break the sound barrier. It was difficult to find a man willing to risk the unknown of supersonic flight. Chuck Yeager was a pioneer and became an American hero — He broke the sound barrier that everyone else had been afraid of.

Yeager said, “The real barrier wasn’t in the sky, but in our knowledge and experience of supersonic flight.”  He described the supersonic flight as “sipping lemonade on the front porch” and “a poke through Jell-O.”

What barriers do you face as a Christian doing the will of God? What kind of adjustments must be made to break those barriers?  Your own thinking, attitudes, and discipline must be changed in order to break the barriers. The Lord gives strength to His people. The power of God makes the greatest challenges “a poke through Jell-O.” When the barriers are broken, you will experience victory in every area of life!

Confession:The Lord has given me strength to break through any barriers I might face. I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! (Ephesians 6:10)

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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 as under 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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FEED ON THE WORD

Put off concerning the former conversation [lifestyle] the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts; 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)

Your spirit is literally held hostage until your mind is renewed with the daily washing of God’s Word. Mark Hankins

You will only be what God intends for you to be when your mind, will, and emotions are dominated by God’s Word. When you feed your spirit on the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to work in you, your mind will be renewed. The same power that is working in your spirit will move up into your head. Then God will start dealing with some of your habits and attitudes.

You might say, “I like a little sin on the weekend and I’m not changing. Sometimes I lose my temper, that’s just who I am. I’ll tithe when I want to, that’s just who I am.”  

The Holy Spirit has a rocket missile launcher going from your spirit to your head. It is launched as you feed upon God’s Word. If you will be still long enough in the presence of God, Jesus will start cleaning house!

Confession: I refuse to be bound by habits, attitudes, sins, or ideas that have controlled my soul, my family, and my life for years. I am a new creation in Christ!

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FAITH IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus…by the law of faith. (Romans 3:25-27)

Faith in His blood is the power and the vehicle that launches the believer into the very presence of God.
Mark Hankins

What a wonderful sight it is to see a space shuttle launch. You can see it rise slowly, then rocket into another world. The power, the sound, and the sight are fascinating. The giant fuel cells that propel it are necessary to get it out of this atmosphere into outer space. The shuttle leaves the law of gravity behind and enters a world of weightlessness. I like to compare that to faith in the blood of Jesus.

Faith in His blood launches the believer into another realm where the new law of faith rules. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus breaks the law of sin and death. The weight of sin that once held you down is broken and you are free. Think of the possibilities and the power in the blood of Jesus!

Confession: I am no longer bound by the law of sin and death! I am free through faith in His blood and the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus!

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