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FINDING YOUR PLACE IN CHRIST

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)

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

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THE GOD-KIND OF LIFE

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38)

Eternal life is not simply life that goes on forever; it is the coming into human life something of the life of God. William Barclay

I like how James Stewart said that the life that flows from God to man was “a sudden emergence of an entirely new and original element.” We become partakers of the life of God–suddenly! Through simple faith in Jesus Christ, the miracle of the new birth takes place in the spirit of the believer. Eternal life is a spiritual substance from heaven that is imparted in the spirit of a man.

This life flows in heaven from the throne of God; it flows like a river. (John 7:37-39) God is overflowing with this life. You and I can have more and more of this life flowing in us. We can have this life in ever-increasing measures as we are filled with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. We can walk in the light of this life and in the consciousness of what we have in Christ as we learn more and more of the “words of this life.” (Acts 5:20)

Confession: I am a partaker of the life of God. I have eternal life. I have the life of God flowing in me. I am walking in the consciousness of what I have in Christ as I learn more and more of the words of this life!

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JESUS WENT TO THE SYNAGOGUE

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. (Luke 4:16)

Jesus had studied the Word and found Himself in the Word! Mark Hankins

Jesus went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as His custom was, He went to the synagogue. Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day as He usually did and stood up to read. Jesus went there all the time. His mama and daddy taught Him to go there.

You might say, “I don’t need to go to church because the Lord and I have our own thing.” If Jesus went to the synagogue as God, you ought to go to church.

They gave Jesus the book of the prophet Isaiah. When He opened the book, “he found the place where it was written.” (Luke 4:17) Jesus had studied the Word until He found Himself in the Word!

Do you know how He found it? He was looking. While everybody else was playing games, Jesus was studying the prophets. Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” You can grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man by finding yourself in the Word of God.

Confession: I am growing in God. I am increasing in wisdom and in favor with God and man.

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YOUR INWARD MAN

But he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17)

Feeling is the voice of your body; reason is the voice of your mind; conscience is the voice of your spirit. Mark Hankins

You are a triune being — spirit, soul, and body — even as God is a triune being — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Your spirit is the part of you that is joined to Christ. It is the part of you that is most like God. Paul called your spirit your “inward” man. Your spirit is the hidden man, the unseen person — the real you!

Paul said to walk in the Spirit, live in the Spirit, and pray in the Spirit. What does “in the Spirit” mean? Paul was talking about an entirely different dimension or realm. Feeling is the voice of your body; reason is the voice of your mind, and conscience is the voice of your spirit.

The first step to walking in the Spirit is to pray in the Spirit. When you spend time praying in the Spirit, it helps you to walk and live in the Spirit. You also have to put on the new man. You are a new creature in Christ — but you must put on the new man by renewing your mind to the Word of God!

Confession: I am born again and my spirit is joined to Christ. I am walking in the Spirit, living in the Spirit, and praying in the Spirit!

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BE A “YES” MAN

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Anything God has ever promised in Christ is affirmative- no question about it!
Mark Hankins

All the promises of God in Him are “yes.” I have a pastor friend in Chicago who has a toy “yes man” sitting on his desk. He is dressed nicely in a little suit, his hair is perfect, and his smile is just right. This little “yes man” has a switch on his back and is voice-activated. Anytime my friend is having a conflict and cannot find anybody to agree with him, his “yes man” agrees with him.

Too often you put undue pressure on yourself to come up with the victory or the answer. All you need to do is agree with what God says in His Word. God is the
Genius, and you are the “yes man.”

Now look again at 2 Corinthians 1:20, “All the promises of God in him are yea.” You do not have to wonder if God might or might not want to bless you, help you, or give you what you have asked for. He said, “It is an absolute yes in Him!”

Confession: For as many as were the promises of God in Christ is the yes that fulfills them; therefore through Christ again let the Amen rise through us to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 1:20 Twentieth Century)

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