Living By Faith

THE SMELL OF TRIUMPH

The blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

God wants you to apply the blood of Jesus to your life in every situation and smell like the triumph of Christ. Mark Hankins

Several years ago on one of our family vacations, I decided to drive through a wild animal park in Oklahoma. We purchased some small buckets of feed to give to the various animals as we drove through. A llama came strolling up and I began to feed him out of my bucket. All of a sudden, he forced his whole head in the window and ate out of my bucket with his whole head in my lap. The llama pulled his head out of the bucket and sneezed in my van! Llama spit and snot and slimy stuff went all across the front dash and on our clothes!

Sin and Satan are the same way. When the devil gets his head in your life, he will not leave until he has sneezed on you and made a mess. Jesus shed His blood, died, and rose from the dead to undo all that the devil has done. God not only wants to get the devil’s head out and clean up the mess, but He also wants you to be free from the smell of the past. God does not want you to smell like sin, failure, guilt, and shame.

Confession: The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Thank God for the Blood of Jesus!

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FREEDOM FROM GUILT AND SIN CONSCIOUSNESS

Now thanks be unto God, which always cause thus to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place.(2 Corinthians 2:14)

God is your heavenly Father, and He is glorified when you reflect His life, joy, and victory! Mark Hankins

God does not want His children to live with a continual consciousness of sin, failure, defeat, weakness, guilt, and inferiority. As a father of two children, I know I don’t want my children to live that way.  This does not mean that you won’t have challenges. You live in a world that is full of adversity, but you are overcomers because you are born of God. (1 John 5:4) Instead of a sense of sin or guilt, you should have a sense of righteousness and triumph.

The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked, snake-bit, beaten in the head, and left for dead, yet he came out saying, “I am more than a conqueror in Christ.” (Romans 8:37) He came out smelling like a rose with victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. Paul saw himself in Christ.

God wants you to smell like the triumph of Christ.  This means you have to live in the consciousness and with the confession of who you are in Christ.

Confession: I am more than a conqueror in Christ. I have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil! 

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THE GLORY – A PLACE OF REVELATION

But we all with open face beholding as in a mirr or the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

We must see the glory of God to do the will of God. Mark Hankins

The glory is a place of revelation. God reveals Himself to us in ever increasing ways in the glory. He is the Lord our Provider, Healer, Shepherd, Righteousness, and Victory. He is everything we will ever need!

After Moses saw the glory of God, his understanding expanded of who God is and how great His goodness is. Now Moses could receive what was necessary for him to do all that God required of him. We must see the glory of God to do the will of God.

You will look a lot better in Christ than you do outside of Him. So what do you need to do? Get on the rock; climb into the rock, and in Him the glory of God will pass by. In Him you will be changed. In Him is revelation. In Him the goodness of God will come to your house.

Confession: Before I was formed in my mother’s womb you ordained a place for me in Christ. Christ is the Lord my Provider, my Healer, my Shepherd, my Righteousness, and my Victory! In Him, the goodness of God is coming to my house!

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VICTORY IN CHRIST

The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. (Psalm 119:130)

You are who God says you are; you can do what God says you can do; you can have what God says you can have! Mark Hankins

My dad and mom pastored a full gospel church in West Columbia, Texas for more than 50 years.  When my parents first moved to West Columbia, I was only a year old and my older brother, Mike, was four. Mom was sick and mentally tormented for two years. Dad not only pastored the church, but also had the pressure of all the family responsibilities. Dad began to have heart trouble. The church was small and struggling, and we were poor.

However, in the middle of this struggle a man gave my dad some books on the authority of the believer, the integrity of God’s Word, and who you are in Christ.  Dad began to read and study the material and gained a new understanding of God’s Word. Dad began to speak the Word to Mom and had her repeat it after him. She began to say, “I am who God says I am. I have what God says I have. I can do what God says I can do!” As my parents saw who they were in Christ and spoke the Word, faith arose in their hearts. They knew that victory belonged to them in every area of their lives.

Confession: Now thanks be unto God, which always cause thus to triumph in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

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FINDING YOUR PLACE IN CHRIST

Now thanks be unto God, which always cause thus to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.  (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Understanding where you are has everything to do with finding your destiny and direction in life. Mark Hankins

A traveling man entered a town looking for a certain address. He pulled into the driveway of a home where a little boy was playing in the front yard to ask for directions. He rolled down his window and called to the little boy, “Where am I?”  The little boy answered, “Right there you are!”

Many times in life we search for answers and direction. God shows us in His Word a simple, “Right there you are!”  Understanding the new birth and who you are in Christ begins with several “right there you are” and “you are here” scriptures.

Accept the integrity of God’s Word and boldly declare, “I am who God says I am. I have what God says I have. I can do what God says I can do.” Right there you are — in Christ!

Confession: In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the God head bodily. I am complete in Him which is the head of all principality and power! (Colossians 2:9-10)

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