Mark Hankins Ministries

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Seventy times Seven

SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN

“He who refuses to forgive, burns the bridge over which he himself must pass.” Have you ever studied the New Testament on the subject of forgiveness? The radical kind of forgiveness that God extends to us is the same kind He expects us to extend to others. It is amazing how in Christian circles we can rejoice about God’s forgiveness to us and have a brother by the throat at the same time. One of the most important lessons we can learn in life is how to forgive. In Luke 17:1-6, Jesus commanded forgiveness not 7 times, not 70 times, but 70 times 7! God expects us to forgive our brother 490 times. Perhaps God is so serious about us forgiving others because of the radical forgiveness He has extended to us (Psalm 103:1-3). God forgives and forgets our sins and expects us to do the same (Isaiah 43:25 26). The Greek meaning for the word forgive includes these words: forsake, leave, let go, remit. It denotes a cessation and completion. That means it is in the past and should be forgotten. It is over. When we refuse to forgive, we destroy the bridge we must cross to reach our blessing and destiny. Forgiveness is always connected to receiving God’s best blessings. Joseph forgave his brothers and reached his destiny. Satan always means it for evil, but God will turn it for good (Genesis 50:20). And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10 Job prayed for his persecutors and critics. When he exercised love and forgiveness, there was a turn for the better in his condition. Forgiveness is always a turning point. Job was able to turn things around in his life by forgiving, and you can too!

CHOOSE TO FORGIVE

Praying for those who have hurt you or wronged you is choosing to forgive. The first lesson Jesus gave about prayer in the New Testament is about forgiveness. “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you; that you may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven,” Matthew 5:44-45.

One time I was complaining to an older minister about some “friends” who had done me wrong. I felt mistreated and wanted some payback or revenge. I felt justified in my feelings and was offended. As I explained the situation to this older minister, he said, “You may be able to whip a skunk, but you might not want to.” I have never forgotten that statement. Any time I want to get back at someone, I always remember the skunk.

UNFORGIVENESS

The smell of unforgiveness defiles the atmosphere in every area of our lives. Unforgiveness is worse than the smell; it is a deadly poison that can kill. Forgiveness enables us to escape the “stink” that Satan is trying to put on us. I heard Dad Hagin say, “Any time you feel mistreated, you know the devil is working on you.” Satan is a master of offense. He is the accuser of the brethren. When we judge others, we are allowing Satan to use our mouths. Dad Hagin also said, “Putting out another fellow’s candle doesn’t brighten our own.”

FAITH’S GREATEST ENEMY

After the powerful lessons on unlimited faith and receiving from God in Mark 11:23-24, Jesus warns about unforgiveness (vs. 25). The greatest enemy to faith is unforgiveness. Unforgiveness stops faith from working, hinders your prayer life, limits blessing, stops spiritual growth, opens the door to the devil, and can cause sickness and disease – even premature death. Unforgiveness is a killer. Holding or nursing grudges - large or small - is a killer (Ephesians 4:26-27).

GET RID OF OUGHT

When you stand praying, forgive, if you have ought against any…. Mark 11:25 Jesus said, “if you have any ought against any.” This word ought simply means any little thing. It is wrong to hold unforgiveness against others or against yourself. If Jesus says you are forgiven, then you need to believe it, receive it, and expect God’s best blessings from now on. It does not take 10 years to forgive. Jesus said you can choose to forgive when you stand praying. It takes less than 10 seconds to forgive. Harboring unforgiveness can spoil 10 years of your life.

WORLD MISSIONS PARTNERS

This month we want to offer you our book and 4CD set, Love: The Secret to Success. We believe these will be great resources for you to help feed your faith on the love of God. Love is the way to VICTORY! We also want to thank you for your faithful partnership with us. Construction on our new Conference Center will be done within the next 2 months. We need about $250,000 to complete the sound system, tv studio lighting and to purchase chairs. We are excited to start scheduling meetings and recording TV programs. We believe we will be able to reach more people than ever before with the message of faith and who the believer is in Christ. Thank you for your faithful prayers and giving on this project. We declare to you, our partners, that “You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus,” Philippians 4:19 (MSG).

Posted by Mark and Trina Hankins with
Tags: 70 x 7

Meeting with God

HOW TO HAVE A MEETING WITH GOD

The Bible was written by men who had a “meeting” and personal encounter with God. Here are a few examples. God revealed Himself to Moses in a burning bush and Moses went on to lead the nation of Israel out of slavery, receive the Ten Commandments, and write the first five books of the Bible by revelation. David, the man after God’s heart, killed giants, built a nation, and was the sweet psalmist whose eyes saw the glory of God. Isaiah saw the glory of God, was touched by the coal from God’s altar, and became a prophetic mouthpiece for God. Saul’s name and identity were changed after the light from heaven knocked him from his horse. From that moment the Apostle Paul never stopped in his pursuit to know Jesus Christ. These are some of many who were strong and did exploits for God because they knew and experienced God (Daniel 11:32). We can have our own meeting with God through faith in Jesus’ blood. We must stand before Him, in His Presence, where we take hold of His faith and do His will.

Some people try to have faith from a distance. However, there is no such thing as “long distance faith.” They quote scriptures but don’t seem to know how to access the presence of God. They try to believe without getting before Him. The phrase “before Him” is also translated in His presence or in His sight.

“And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord” (Genesis 19:27). Romans 4:17 says, “As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Abraham did not just have the promises of God, but his faith was loaded with the presence of God. He was God- conscious. I like to say that some people are self-conscious, some are people-conscious, or devil conscious. Some people are time-conscious, and others are just unconscious! However, to win the fight of faith, we must be God-conscious.

Imagine if you had an invitation to meet with someone who is very influential, extremely rich, and would grant you anything you desired. When you learn how to pray, that’s exactly what’s happening! I like to call it, “How To Have A Meeting With God.”

If you were invited to the White House to meet the president, you would be given exact information and the protocol to follow. In the same way, when you meet with God, the meeting place is established at the throne of grace, and your access is granted through the blood of Jesus. Now, there are unlimited possibilities open to you. God is looking for someone to show Himself strong to. It’s His pleasure to grant every need and fulfill every desire. Not only will He do this to the detail, but exceedingly, abundantly, far over and above all you can ask or imagine. Having a “meeting with God” opens all of heaven’s resources to you.

Romans 3:25-27 gives us this protocol, which begins with having faith in the blood of Jesus to qualify you to meet with God. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.”

In the Greek, the word “propitiation” means mercy seat. That’s our meeting place. Exodus 25:22 tells us what happens in the meeting, “There I will meet with you and from above the mercy seat...I will speak intimately with you….” In the Old Testament, only the high priest, once a year could have this meeting. However, everything changed when Jesus, by His own blood, entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us,” (Hebrews 9:12).

Jesus has made the way for anyone with faith in His blood to meet with God. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water,” Hebrews 10:19-20, 22.

Paul describes this meeting in Colossians 1:22 (TLB), “And now Christ has brought you into the very Presence of God and you are standing there before Him with nothing left against you-nothing left He could even chide you for.” The KJV says, “to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight.” There is no one who can get closer to God than you can. Any time someone has faith in the blood, that’s where the meeting place is. Hebrews 10:22 in the Lovett says, “Let us, as members of His family, exercise our right of access and press closer and closer to the Father. But we must come with childlike faith and the unshakeable assurance He is eager to receive us.” The Doddridge translation says, “Let us not stand at a distance as if God were inaccessible; but on the contrary, let us draw near with a sincere and affectionate heart, in the full assurance of faith, supported by such considerations as these, which may well embolden us...to make our approach unto Him in the most cheerful expectation of His blessing.”

We boldly ask God to strengthen and bless you, our partner, with mighty power in your spirit. He will then be able to do exceedingly, abundantly and above all you can ask or think. We want to offer you our book, “The Bloodline of a Champion” and the 2 CD’s “How to Have a Meeting with God.” We believe they will stir your faith and you will have a greater revelation of how to have a meeting with God.

We also want to thank you for your faithful partnership. We are making great progress on our new Conference Center. In just a few months we will be hosting our first conference in the new building. Thank you for your faithful partnership. We are believing for about $500,000 more to finish the Conference Center. We declare to you the same blessing Paul declared to his partners, “And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:19 (AMPC).

Posted by Mark and Trina Hankins with

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