Living By Faith

FAITH DETERMINES YOUR DESTINY

He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. (Hebrews 11:6 AMP)

“The spirit of faith is necessary to do the will of God.” –Mark Hankins

God is sovereign, but He has tied Himself to human cooperation to work out His divine purposes. Jesus said, “According to your faith be it unto you.(Matthew 9:29) Lilian B. Yeomans said, “God has tied Himself irrevocably to human cooperation in the execution of divine purposes. He has made man’s faith a determining factor in the work of redemption.”

When the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus, she got healed. Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole.” (Mark 5) The first ingredient in the spirit of faith is to believe. Brother Kenneth E. Hagin said the Lord told him, “If her faith made her whole, then your faith will make you whole.”

Faith is absolutely necessary to please God and do His will. God rewards those who earnestly and diligently seek Him! (Hebrews 11:6)

Confession: Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.  (Ephesians 3:20)

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UNFORGIVENESS: THE BIGGEST ENEMY TO FAITH

And when ye stand praying forgive, if ye have aught against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Mark 11:25-26)

 

“Faith works by love. A step out of love is a step out of God.” – Kenneth E. Hagin

 

The biggest enemy to faith is unforgiveness. In Mark 11, Jesus was talking about moving mountains. He said all things are possible in prayer. However, He pointed out that if you don’t deal with unforgiveness, none of your praying, your saying, or your faith would work!

If someone really did you wrong, you must forgive that person by releasing him or her of any unforgiveness on your part. You must not speak against that person or attack that individual. You must let go of your unforgiveness. When you release that person, forgive. And when you forgive, something positive will happen inside of you!

 

Confession: I must forgive others in order for God to forgive me. A step out of love is a step out of God. I choose to release any unforgiveness and offense to the Lord. I realize that for my faith to work, I must forgive and walk in love!

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RADICAL REVELATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9, 10

 

What are you going to believe and speak?  You are going to believe and say you have been made the righteousness of God in Christ!  You quit struggling and trying.  You put your trust in God and you receive this free gift.  You believe with your heart that God loves you, God accepts you, and He has made you as righteous as Jesus.

Believing you have been made righteous and receiving the gift of righteousness is a radical, revolutionary revelation and can be difficult for some people to comprehend.  Sometimes people will not receive it because they think they’ve got to work for it.  Sometimes people get proud and think “I don’t want a handout.  You don’t have to give me that.”  But when it comes to this righteousness, you had better take it!

I once ate at a restaurant where some of the waiters worked who attended the church where I was preaching. I gave each one of them a hundred-dollar bill. Do you know only one worker took it?  The other three said, “No, that’s too much.  You don’t have to do that.”  It seems there is something about human nature that questions when God wants to give a gift, saying, “Are you sure about that?  That’s too much.  I don’t really think that’s necessary.”  What Jesus did for you is entirely too much, but you must receive it!

 

Confession: I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and I openly confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord.  Salvation is mine; righteousness is mine.

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YOU ARE FREE

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor… preach deliverance to the captives. (Luke 4:18)

 

“Your release from prison has been accomplished through a price that was paid on your behalf.” – Mark Hankins

 

In Jesus’ first message, He declared that He would “preach deliverance to the captives.”(Luke 4:1) Beck’s translation says, “He sent me to announce to prisoners, ‘You are free.’” Jesus is not talking about His jail ministry. A prison ministry is a great ministry, but there are many people held captive who are not behind steel bars; they are behind real bars.

Only Jesus can bring deliverance. Only the power of the Gospel can bring freedom. Your redemption was legally purchased through the blood of Jesus. His death and resurrection have established a new, universal fact for every man.  Jesus purchased your freedom. That means the prison doors of Satan, sin, and sickness are open and the prisoner is legally free! The prisoner does not have to sneak out some dark night; he can walk out in the daylight because he has a legal release!

 

Confession: God has given me a legal redemption. I am free because God is righteous and He has righteously effected my release!

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GLORY! GOD IS ALL GOOD

For how great is his goodness. (Zechariah 9:17)

 

“The length, depth, breadth, and height of God’s goodness overwhelmed Moses. He had an experience with the Glory of God!” – Mark Hankins

 

Can you imagine what it would be like to have God’s entire goodness pass before you? That is exactly what happened to Moses — God revealed His goodness to him. The length, depth, breadth, and height of God’s goodness overwhelmed Moses; he had an experience with the glory of God. The glory of God so changed Moses’ whole countenance that his face radiated. His face was shining! The glory of God touches and affects every aspect of your life.

I like David Baron’s commentary on Zechariah 9:17: “Goodness is that attribute of God whereby He loveth to communicate to all who can or will receive it, ALL GOOD — yea Himself, who is the fullness and universality of good, creator of all good, not in one way, not in one kind of goodness only, but absolutely, without beginning, with- out limit, without measure. This good, His goodness bestoweth on all and each, according to the capacity of each to receive it; nor is there any limit to His giving, save His creature’s capacity of receiving.”

 

Confession: The glory of God is the goodness of God. The goodness of God is changing my life! God is a good God!

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