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CRANK THE CHAINSAW

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.
(Acts 1:8)

The Holy Spirit is a genius. If you will listen to Him, He will make you look smart!
B.B. Hankins

There is a funny story about a country boy who cut trees for a living. He heard of a new piece of equipment that was supposed to make work a lot easier and faster called a chainsaw. He bought one from the store because the man said he could cut up to 30 trees a day with this new chainsaw. After using it for a few days, he took it back to the store and complained that he was only able to cut 2 or 3 trees a day. The store manager took the chainsaw from him and pulled the starter rope. With a loud noise, the chainsaw started. That country boy jumped back, startled by the noise, and said, “What’s that?” Being as ignorant as he was, he had never cranked the engine!

Many people struggle in the work of the Lord because they have never been filled with the Holy Spirit. He is the power that enables us in every area of life. We must give the Holy Spirit His proper place everyday.

Confession: Greater is He that is in me that he that is in this world. (1 John 4:4) I choose to give the Holy Spirit His proper place everyday. Thank God for the Holy Spirit!

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BLESSED IN CHRIST

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

Every blessing that heaven itself enjoys is ours right now.
Mark Hankins

We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. We are seated in heavenly places. We are blessed with the same blessings Jesus has right now in the presence of God. We have the blessing of the Lord upon our lives.

Everywhere you go, the triumph and the smell of victory on you is greater than whatever is around you. The triumph of Christ in you and the smell of that triumph comes out of you and has an effect on the atmosphere wherever you go.

We do not have to wait until we get to heaven in order to enjoy the blessings that heaven itself enjoys. We are already blessed with the same life, righteousness, joy, peace, and love. We can climb up in that rock of who we are in Christ and get up there in the glory of heaven!

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

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THE LAW OF SUBSTITUTION

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then we’re all dead. (2 Corinthians 5:14)

Jesus was not a martyr; He was a substitute, one man who died for every man.
Mark Hankins

Jesus took our place. He took our curse and died our death. He took our condition so that we could have His condition. He was identified with us. We were there in His death and resurrection, because He died for us, we died with Him. Because He was raised for us, we were raised with Him. Everything Jesus did, He did for us and it is credited to our account as if we did it. Substitution progresses to identification and union with Christ.

In the four Gospels, a disproportionate amount of space is given to the actual events of the death and resurrection of Christ. Every sermon in the book of Acts and all of Paul’s epistles center on what happened in the death and resurrection of Christ. You can get anything you need from this event. Healing, prosperity, joy, victory — whatever you need — you can get from the fact that, “I was crucified with Christ. He took my place because He was my substitute. He took my condition.”

Confession: 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)

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CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST

I have been crucified with Christ. Now it is not my old self, but Christ Himself who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20 Noli)

Little “I” moved out and big Christ moved in.
T.L. Osborn

What does Paul mean, “I was crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live but Christ lives in me”? You could say it this way: “Weak ‘I’ moved out, and strong Christ moved in. Defeated ‘I’ moved out, and victorious Christ moved in. Sick ‘I’ moved out, and healed Christ moved in. Poor ‘I’ moved out, and rich Christ moved in. Cursed ‘I’ moved out, and blessed Christ moved in.” That is our identification with Christ!

How could you ever identify with defeat again when you are identified with Christ? You cannot identify with defeat because of the triumph of Christ. You are a thoroughbred — it is born into you. You are a brand-new breed, a new creation in Christ. Victory is in your genes.

God did not do one thing in Christ and do something of a lower quality in you. He put the same righteousness, life, victory, blessing, and other qualities that are in Christ into your spirit. God “cloned” you with Christ and made you identical to Him.

Confession: I consider myself as having died and now enjoying a second existence, which is simply Jesus using my body. (Galatians 2:20 Distilled Bible)

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PURSUING YOUR POSITION 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)

A breakthrough in revelation enables us to see what God sees.
Mark Hankins

Once you have seen the scenery from your seat next to Jesus at the right hand of God, you won’t ever want to go back to life as it used to be. Other people may listen to a sermon on their identity in Christ and say, “Praise the Lord. That was a good point,” but you will be thinking, “That wasn’t just a good point, that’s the way I live! I am who Jesus says I am! I have what He says I have! He lives in me, and I ALWAYS triumph in Him!”

Believers must have a deep revelation of their position in Christ. Even in the worst situations in life, you can laugh at the devil. Your mind may be going crazy with stress and pressure as you try to think about what you are going to do. You need to stop and begin to meditate on what God’s Word says about who you are in Christ. You need to see things from God’s perspective. God sees you seated with Christ in heavenly places.

Confession: I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! By the blood of Jesus, I overcome all the works of the devil! (2 Corinthians 5:21, Revelation 12:11)

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