Mark Hankins Ministries

June 2017 - Righteousness Revealed!

RIGHTEOUSNESS REVEALED

Understanding you have God’s divine approval on your life sets you free from the sense of rejection, inadequacy or inferiority.  You are confident you have God’s approval.  You are free to receive God’s best blessings and to follow His plan for your life.  This confidence in God sets you free from constantly seeking approval from others.

One of the most misunderstood subjects in the Bible is righteousness. The Gospel of Christ is a revelation of the righteousness of God. The center of the Gospel reveals the righteousness of God.  I call righteousness a radical revelation, a revolutionary revelation. It is a reality that is produced for us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto

salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:

as it is written, the just shall live by faith.  Romans 1:16-17

For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with Himself.  (GNB)

It reveals God’s way of making men as righteous as himself.  (Lovett)

Paul says the Gospel is the power of God and he mentions faith four times. Your faith cannot be any stronger than your revelation of righteousness. Your faith works best when you have a righteousness consciousness.

There are many benefits to righteousness.  The Old Testament talks about it in Proverbs 28:1, “The righteous are as bold as a lion.”  Psalm 112:3 says, “...wealth and riches shall be in the house of the righteous.”  One of my favorites is Psalm 68:3, “But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.”  James 5:16 says, “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  The Amplified says, “makes tremendous power available.”

Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin, or Dad Hagin, as a young Christian, went to a church where he got a “truckload” of unworthiness.  When he went to another church, he got a “double truckload” of unworthiness.  After reading James 5:16, he said, “If I ever get to be righteous, my prayer is going to be powerful!”  In other words, he did not really have a revelation of the righteousness of God yet.    

In his book, I Believe in Visions, Dad Hagin tells of a vision he had of Jesus.  When he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet and said, “No one as unworthy as I am should look at your face.”  Jesus told Dad Hagin to stand up on his feet, because He had washed him in His blood and made him worthy.  He received the radical revelation that Jesus had made him worthy.

There are three very important things to remember about righteousness.  1.  Righteousness is a free gift.  You cannot do anything to earn this righteousness—it is a gift from God.  2.  Righteousness is a legal declaration.  You have been declared righteous and are now justified by God.  3.  Righteousness is a spiritual force.

“They who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through one man, Jesus Christ,” Romans 5:17.  Notice it says they who receive. You cannot earn this gift, but you must receive the gift of righteousness.  When you understand what you have received, you will reign like a king in life.   You will not be a victim any longer, but you will be a victor.

Romans 4:25 says, “Jesus was delivered up for our sin and raised for our justification.”  Jesus died because of our sins and was raised because of our justification.  The Fenton translation says Jesus was raised “through our righteousness.”  Jesus could not be and was not raised from the dead until you were declared righteous and the penalty for sin was paid in full.    

One way to understand the word “justified” is to break it down this way: just-as-if-I’d never sinned.  Everything Jesus did was for you and you were declared justified or righteous.

A LEGAL DECLARATION

This gift of righteousness means you have escaped sin consciousness, the dominion of sin, and the dominion of Satan. Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”  You have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His dear Son.

The Jordan translation of Colossians 1:12,13 is descriptive: “It was the Father who sprang us from the jail house of darkness, and turned us loose in the new world of His beloved Son.” This is a really good picture, except for one thing.  When you read “He sprang us from the jail house of darkness,” you may be thinking, “I’ve been saved and made righteous.”  However, you may unconsciously see your righteousness as a jailbreak.

The fact is, Jesus did not break you out of jail.  You were legally justified by the highest court and the highest judge in the land.  Therefore, you are not running from the law.  There is no one chasing you.  You are not going through the swamp and you do not have on the old uniform.  You were legally declared justified and righteous and you legally walked out of the jail house of sin in front of everybody as the righteousness of God in Christ.  You have divine approval.  You do not have to hide from your past because you have been declared justified.  You have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

“The Good News shows how God makes people right with Himself," Romans 1:16 (Deaf).  Thank you, our partners, for helping us publish the Good News in the face of terrorism and fear!  Divine Approval, our new book, is being released and will be translated in Spanish, Vietnamese and Nepalese soon.  Here is an answer to prayer: We are now preaching on satellite television!  Our messages are overdubbed in the Urdu language, which reaches Pakistan and parts of India.  Your continued prayer and financial partnership is helping to print and distribute books, support missionaries and pastors in many nations and be heard on television around the world.  Thank you!  For a gift of $25 or more we will send you our brand new book and our new CD set called Divine Approval.  May you abound in God's grace financially and may every need be supplied, according to God's riches in glory, as you help publish the Good News!

In Christ,
Mark and Trina

May 2017 - My Momma Runs!

MY MOMMA RUNS

My dad and mom pastored a full gospel church in West Columbia, Texas for more than 50 years. The Christian Center has grown to be the largest church in West Columbia and the largest Full Gospel church in the area.  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 the first two years in West Columbia. Dad not only pastored the church, but also had the pressure of all the family responsibilities.  Dad began to have heart trouble.  During this same time, while playing outside with Mike, I stuck my thumb into a bicycle chain and cut off my thumb.  I don’t remember ever having two thumbs.  The church was small and struggling, and we were poor.  It was a tough time for us.

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.

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

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 life.

IT’S NOT NECESSARY, UNLESS IT’S NECESSARY

As I grew up in church, there were some unusual services. Sometimes while we sang, Mom would begin to praise God rather exuberantly and shout, “Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!” With glory and joy on her countenance, she would shout “Wooooo” and run around the church!  Dad was a little more dignified.  After Mom ran, Dad would say, “Now, some of you don’t think that is necessary.  It’s not necessary, unless it’s necessary.”  While the congregation tried to figure out what Dad had said, Mom and others who had joined her would finish their rejoicing.

He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.  And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God...                                           Psalm 40:2-3

I did not understand the magnitude of my mother’s deliverance, until I was seventeen and running from God.  I had an automobile accident coming home from a party with a backslidden friend that totaled several cars.  We walked away without a scratch.  My backslidden friend said, “If your mom wasn’t praying, we would have been killed.”  I agreed. 

SATAN HATH DESIRED TO HAVE YOU

When I got home, Mom was sitting in a rocking chair.  She spoke the words that Jesus spoke to Peter, “...Satan hath desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren,” Luke 22:31,32.

Although good changes had begun in my life, not long after the automobile accident, three friends and I ended up in the county jail.  I called Mom from the jail and she said, “Your dad has church tonight (it was a Wednesday night), so just prop your feet up and stay a while.”  Dad and four deacons came to jail after church and put up bond for me so I could go home.  After that incident, I sold my ‘55 Chevrolet and that sobered me up for a while.

ARRESTED BY GOD

One Sunday God had a surprise for me.  I was sitting on the back row cutting up and God “arrested” me.  An unannounced guest speaker, F.E. Ward, came to church that Sunday.  Brother Ward was a big, stocky preacher. You never knew when he was going to show up, and that Sunday I was not prepared for what was about to happen. 

I was sitting on the back row with my backslidden friends when Brother Ward went to the platform and said he felt led to do something.  He pointed to the back and said, “I want the pastor’s son to come to the front.”  I was shocked!  My friends made a comment, “You’re a dead duck now.”  As I got up and headed down the aisle, I began to repent under my breath: “O God, forgive me of my sins.  Please don’t tell that preacher what I’ve been doing.  If You tell him and he tells everybody, my dad will kill me.”

All the blood drained from my face, I was afraid and embarrassed as I stood in front of the whole church.  I was only seventeen, but I thought my life had come to an end.  Instead, I heard the voice of F.E. Ward say, “Sit down on the altar.”  As I sat down, he began to speak to me under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  As he spoke to me about God’s plan and purpose for my life, the presence and love of God overwhelmed me, and I began to cry.  I surrendered my life to Jesus again, and my heart was changed by the love of God.  I AM A LIVING TESTIMONY THAT THE LOVE OF GOD IS THE GREATEST FORCE ON EARTH.

I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM

Dad’s preaching and Mom’s praying and running around the church began to make sense to me.  I started studying the scriptures that showed me my redemption in Christ. I began to daily meditate on who I was in Christ.  I would say, “I am who God says I am.  I have what God says I have.  I can do what God says I can do.” The power of God’s Word started a work in me, and I began to understand my identification with Christ.

My Mom still ran around the church up until she went to Heaven a few years back.  The church was much bigger in her later years and there were a lot more educated and prosperous people in the congregation.  She didn’t care she would say, “Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!”  She would shout “Woooooo” and run around the church.  The only difference is I would shout and run with her.

TRIUMPHANT PARTNERSHIP

2017 is a year of triumphant expansion for the Church!   Second Corinthians 2:14 in the Conybeare's translation says, “Thanks be to God who leads me on from place to place in the train of his triumph, to celebrate his victory over the enemies of Christ.”   Through the power of partnership, a great impact for the spread of this message is being made.   Your continued prayer and financial partnership is making this message and resources available to more people than ever before.  We will send this power-packed gift to you for only $30:  Faith Laughs at Impossibilities (4CDs), The Good Fight of Faith (4CD’s), The Voice of Faith (3CDs), and The Secret Power of Joy book.  It will supercharge your faith.  We are standing with you, declaring blessing and increase in your life as you celebrate Christ's victory everywhere you go!

In Christ,
Mark and Trina