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PIONEERS, SETTLERS, AND MUSEUM KEEPERS

By faith. Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. (Hebrews 11:24-25)

The spirit of faith will make you leave your comfort zone. Mark Hankins

There are three kinds of people: pioneers, settlers, and museum keepers.  

  • Museum keepers are content to dust off the memories of previous generations and talk about the exploits of the past. They live off of the experiences of others and never see God’s power operate in their own lives.  
  • Settlers travel for a while, but become weary of the journey and stop too soon. They get comfortable and never press on to the possibilities ahead.  Some of the tribes of Israel settled too soon and never crossed the Jordan with Joshua. 
  • Pioneers are those who venture into unknown or unclaimed territory. They are the ones who open up new areas; they prepare the way! 

We should qualify as pioneers because the spirit of faith never stops pressing on!  With God all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26)

Confession:The spirit of faith is a pioneer spirit. The spirit of faith in me will push out from the shore and launch into the deep at God’s Word. (Luke 5:4-5)

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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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YOUR IDENTITY IN THE WORD

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)

The greater your Word intake, the more Christ will be manifested through you. Mark Hankins

I believe when Jesus was ten, eleven, or twelve years old, He found out who He was by reading it in the scriptures. Jesus identified with the Word as He read Isaiah 61:1,“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”

Many people, not just teenagers, have an identity crisis. They search for it in some psychology book or by trying to mimic a movie star. They comb their hair like someone they see on TV.  They watch some cowboy movie and think they are John Wayne, or they see a motorcycle rider and think they need a motorcycle and a bandanna around their head too!

You will find your identity in the same book as Jesus did — the Bible. You do not have to spend your entire life searching for your identity. You are a new creature in Christ — your identity is now In Christ!

Confession:I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me.  (Galatians 2:20)

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FROM CHILDLESS TO FATHER OF MANY

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

It’s important to understand who you are in Christ because the devil knows if you know your identity. Mark Hankins

One of the greatest stories ever written on changing one’s identity is the story of God appearing to Abram and Sarai. God changed their names and their identities. I believe every time Sarah and Abraham called each other by their new names, they declared who God said they were. Yet, Abraham, “father of many,” didn’t have any children at this point in his life.

That’s how God does business. If He can get you to agree with Him and to agree with revelation knowledge, His Word will not return unto Him void. In other words, the Word has the power to produce what it says if God can get you to agree with it.

Abraham became the father of many nations as well as the father of your faith.  God’s Word accomplished what He sent it out to do.

Confession: The Word of God has the power to produce what it says it will produce. I agree with God’s Word!

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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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