Monday, June 30, 2008

You Are Complete In Christ

Colossians 2:10
10and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

When you look at yourself, what do you see? Do you see someone who is imperfect and lacking in many areas, or someone who is whole and complete in Christ?

There are believers who see themselves as incomplete. This is because they are conscious of their lack and imperfections. They say, “There are so many things imperfect about me! How can I be complete if there are so many things I am lacking in?” They see their weaknesses, condemn themselves and feel inferior to others.

The good news is that God does not see the way man sees. Man sees the flesh. God sees the spirit. He sees us already complete in Christ. In spite of our imperfections, He sees us as new creations, partakers of His divine nature and more than conquerors over our faults. And He wants us to see ourselves the way He sees us.

Know that what we think we need or are lacking in, whether it is godly character traits or physical health, we already have in Christ.

I used to think that I had to ask God to make me more patient, until I realised one day that Jesus is my patience. Since then, I no longer ask God to make me wiser either, because Jesus is my wisdom. (1 Corinthians 1:30) I am not waiting to receive more healing because Jesus is my complete healing at this moment. And I am not yearning for peace and rest one day because Jesus is my peace and rest today. Right now, I have everything because I stand complete in Christ!

My friend, you are not going to be complete in Christ someday — you are already complete in Christ! And what remains for you to do is to walk daily in that completeness by believing that it is true and confessing that what you need right now, Jesus is to you. He is your complete forgiveness, complete righteousness, complete favour and complete protection.

So don’t focus on the lack you see in your life. Focus instead on how in Christ, you are complete in everything at this moment. And instead of weaknesses, lack and defects, you will see His strength, wholeness, soundness and completeness showing in you!

Believing Is Receiving

Mark 5:28–29
28For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” 29Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

You have heard people of the world say, “I will only believe it when I see it.” Generally, that is the way the world thinks. But God’s ways are not like the ways of the world. The world says, “If I can’t feel it or see it, I cannot believe the miracle is here.” God says, “If you believe it before you feel it or see it, you will see your miracle.”

Believing first before seeing the evidence of what we are believing for is called faith. Faith is like a spark and Jesus is the dynamite powder. When He was on earth, there were many people who touched Him, but only those who touched Him in faith received their miracle. For example, when the woman with the issue of blood came to Him in faith and touched Him, it sparked off an explosion of healing in her body.

Hearing about how good, kind and loving Jesus was fired her faith to believe that He could and would heal her. So convinced was she (even when the condition in her body was still evident) that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Did she experience her healing first before she believed? No, she believed first in Jesus’ goodness and power, acted in faith and only then felt the healing in her body.

In the same way, God wants you to believe in His goodness and love towards you. He wants you to know how willing He is to act on your behalf to bless you, and how, with Christ, He has already given you every good thing. (Romans 8:32)

He wants you to declare by faith that all is and shall be well with you, and expect to see just that. And then, no matter how long you have had the problem, no matter how bad the experts say it is, an explosion of healing and restoration will take place, and you will see your miracle!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Proclaim Jesus’ Death To Your Enemies

Proclaim Jesus’ Death To Your Enemies


1 Corinthians 11:26
26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

In the Old Testament, whenever the children of Israel sacrificed a lamb for a burnt offering as they faced a strong enemy, victory was theirs. For example, in 1 Samuel 7:7–11, when the Philistines were coming against them, the prophet Samuel offered a lamb as a burnt offering. As it was being offered, the Lord came like a loud thunder on the Philistine army, confusing them. This led to victory for the Israelites.

Every time something bad happened to the children of Israel, by offering a lamb sacrifice, they were proclaiming the Lord’s death, and the battle would turn in their favour.

Today, when we are faced with an enemy or stuck in the thick of battle, how do we offer our burnt offering? How do we proclaim the Lord’s death and come out victorious? Do we ask Jesus to come down to where we are at and die on the cross all over again?

No, we don’t do that! Jesus died once for all our sins — past, present and future. (Hebrews 10:12) His work is perfectly perfect and completely complete, so He doesn’t have to die for us again. Today, we proclaim His death simply by partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

Every time you partake of the bread and wine, you declare to the principalities and powers of darkness that the Lord’s death avails for you. Every time you partake, you are saying that because Jesus has been judged and punished in your place, you cannot be judged and punished. Because Jesus died in your place, you will not die. And because He conquered death and stripped the devil of his powers, you will not be defeated. The victory is already yours!

That is why the psalmist David said, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” (Psalm 23:5) The Lord’s Table is prepared for you in the presence of your enemies because when you partake of the bread and wine, you will see your enemies tremble and scatter! Why? Because when you proclaim the Lord’s death through the Holy Communion, you are reminding them of their humiliating defeat at Calvary’s cross! (Colossians 2:15)

Saturday, June 21, 2008

There Is No Spot In You

Song Of Solomon 4:7
7You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you.

Jesus tells us, His bride, “You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you.” But our reply to Him tends to be, “Me? All fair and no spot? You don’t know me, Lord!”

Do you really think that God does not know you?

God sees reality like no one else sees it. He sees the perfection of His Son’s finished work in your life. By one offering of Himself at the cross, Jesus has perfected you forever! (Hebrews 10:14) You have been made the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21) And you will never find any spot in this righteousness that Jesus died to give you.

So God wants you to see yourself righteous — all fair and no spot in Christ. Every day, be conscious of your righteousness in Christ. Say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ! There is no spot in me whom He has perfected with His blood!” When you do that, you are honouring Jesus and His finished work.

If you are conscious of your sins, then you are not honouring the work of Christ. You may think that you are being humble or holy by being sin-conscious, but do you know that the Bible calls sin-consciousness an “evil conscience”?

Hebrews 10:21–22 tells us that since we have Jesus as our High Priest, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience”. What does the writer of Hebrews mean by “an evil conscience”? If you read the beginning of the same chapter, you will find that he is talking about a “consciousness of sins”. (Hebrews 10:2) Paul calls it a “conscience seared with a hot iron”. (1 Timothy 4:2) The Greek word for “seared” here is kauteriazo. According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, kauteriazo here refers to people who “carry about with them the perpetual consciousness of sin”.

So don’t carry with you an evil or seared conscience. Your lifetime of sins has already been punished fully in the body of Jesus. Be conscious, instead, of your perfection and righteousness in Christ. Because of what Jesus has done for you, you can boldly declare, “I am all fair, and there is no spot in me!”

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Let Your Heart Be Established By Grace

Hebrews 13:9
9… it is good that the heart be established by grace…

God does not want your heart full of worries and fears, tossed and turned by every challenge that comes your way. He wants your heart at rest and established by His grace towards you.

But when you think that the breakthroughs to your challenges depend on your ability to obey God, then your heart will never be at rest. It will be full of worries and anxieties. Why? Because you can never obey God perfectly.

But when you depend on God’s grace, that is, His undeserved, unmerited favour, the opposite happens — your heart becomes established. When you know that the only thing that qualifies you to receive God’s blessings is faith in the finished work of Christ, your heart becomes established. Then, you will walk without fear of your troubles swallowing you up. You will walk with full assurance that His blessings will be manifested in your life.

My friend, God wants your heart established, knowing that His righteousness, healing, protection and prosperity are yours — all paid for by Jesus’ finished work at the cross. God’s blessings are sure in your life because they are not dependent on your ability to keep His laws.

You see, under the old covenant, you receive God’s blessings only if you keep all His laws. (Deuteronomy 28:1–2) If you sin and fail to keep even one law, you are disqualified from receiving His blessings. But today, under the new covenant, your sins no longer disqualify you because God Himself has said, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

So let your heart be established by God’s grace. Because of His grace, you have full access to His blessings. You no longer have to worry about whether you are good enough. You can stand firm on the promises made in His Word and enjoy His blessings today because Jesus has paid the price. Your part is only to believe and receive!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Jesus Took Your Place So That You Can Take His

Matthew 27:46
46And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Do you know that it was at the cross that Jesus addressed His Father as “God” for the first time? He had always addressed His Father as “Father”. But at Calvary’s tree, He addressed His Father as “God”.

Jesus lost that Father-Son relationship when He was representing you and carrying your sins on the cross so that today, you can call God, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15), and have a loving Father-son relationship with God forever. He was forsaken by God when His world became very dark on that lonely hill so that in your darkest hour, God will always say to you, “I will never leave you nor forsake you!” (Hebrews 13:5)

At the time when Jesus needed God most, God turned His back on Him. God had to turn His back on His Son because His eyes are too holy to behold all the sin that was in His Son’s body. And because God turned His back on Jesus, He will never turn His back on you. Instead, you will see God’s face of favour shining on you all the time!

Jesus also took your place of no protection at the cross. For the first time, He gave up divine protection so that you can enjoy it all the days of your life! And because He became sin, He took your curse at the cross so that today, as you take His gift of righteousness, you receive only blessings from God.

Jesus received the full brunt of God’s wrath in His body once and for all when He carried your sins. All of God’s anger and condemnation fell on Him, consuming all your sins until there was no anger left.

Today, God is not angry with you. The body of Jesus absorbed everything — your sins, curses, and God’s wrath and condemnation. So live life expecting to see not the judgment, but the goodness and blessings of God!

Monday, June 16, 2008

God Says ‘I Will’ In The New Covenant

Hebrews 8:10,12
10… I will put My laws in their mind… I will be their God… 12… I will be merciful to their unrighteousness… their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

You may be feeling stressed at work today because your boss just gave you a list of things to do. Maybe he told you, “You have to type this letter. You have to meet this client. You have to write this report. You have to…” Wouldn’t it be nice if your boss had, instead, said, “I will type this letter for you. I will meet this client for you. I will write this report for you. I will…”?

Well, your boss may not be that gracious, but your Father in heaven is! When He found fault with the old covenant and established the new covenant (Hebrews 8:7–8) in His Son’s blood, His “Thou shalls” became “I wills”.

You see, under the old covenant, the focus is on you — Thou shall not… Thou shall not… Thou shall not… It is about your performance, your obedience, your works. But under the new covenant, God says, “I will put My laws in their mind… I will be their God… I will be merciful to their unrighteousness… their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” It is no longer you working for God, but God working for you, in you and through you!

“Isn’t there something for me to do?” you may ask.

My friend, the only thing for you to do is to believe God’s “I wills”. The more you believe His “I wills” or promises, the more you will see His heart for you and the more your faith will grow.

It is foolish for me to just tell you, “Come on, man, have faith!” You will still not have faith because I am not giving you anything to build faith in you. But if I were to tell you all about what God says He will do for you, faith will arise in your heart. Faith is a response to knowing what God says He will do for you.

So the best thing you can “do” under the new covenant is to not focus on what you must do for God, but what God says He will do for you!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

You Have The Victory!

Romans 8:37
37Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

If God’s Word says that we are more than conquerors through Christ, then we are. We are not going to become, we already are. We may be experiencing some failures or setbacks in life right now, but only good will come out of our situations because God says that “in all these things we are more than conquerors”. We have victory!

You see, God has placed us in Christ, in the highest place of the universe where He has exalted His Son. We are not trying to get to victory ground, we already are on victory ground. We don’t confess God’s Word to get victory, we confess His Word because we already have victory. We don’t fight for victory, we fight from victory.

The devil will try to steal our victory. He will come against us with lies and fears, and cause us to be conscious of our failures, weaknesses and symptoms in areas such as our health. But we are not trying to be healed, we are healed. We are healed because God’s Word has already declared that “by His stripes we are healed”. (Isaiah 53:5)

A sister in our church was seeing two psychiatrists. She was under psychiatric care and medication for panic attacks for the most part of her life. She said that when she started coming to church and learning about Jesus, the truth of God’s Word began to dawn on her heart.

She started believing that victory over her condition was already hers and began confessing it. From then onwards, all her fears were removed and her panic attacks were no more. Today, she has a sound mind, is free from all medication and knows that her life is greatly blessed through Jesus who loves her.

The moment you accept Jesus as your Saviour, you are born again and the new person inside you is more than a conqueror. You are already on victory ground and you have victory over every challenging situation in your life!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Convince Yourself, Not God!!

Mark 5:28
28For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

With a crowd thronging Him, Jesus was touched by a lot of people that day (Mark 5:31), but only the touch of one woman drew a response from Him. Her touch sparked off instant healing in her body, releasing her from a sickness that had plagued her for 12 years.

Do you want to know how to touch God and receive the miracle you need?

When the woman heard that Jesus was coming by her village, she said to herself, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” On her way to see Jesus, she probably told herself many times, “If I touch His clothes, I will be healed. I will be made whole.” We don’t know how long she had been saying that to herself, but she convinced herself that Jesus would heal her.

If you are sick, convince yourself that Jesus is your healer and that by His stripes you are healed. You don’t need to convince God. He is not the one who needs to be persuaded because His blessing is already pressing on you! It is you who needs to be persuaded that God has already given you your miracle. That is the reason you confess His Word — to convince yourself, not God, to persuade your heart, not His.

Some people confess their faith to others to convince God indirectly. For example, if they are believing God for a child, they go around telling their friends, “I am believing God for a child.” They are actually trying to convince God to bless them. They are telling God, “I’ve told so many people what I am believing You for. It would be very embarrassing if You don’t make it happen.” Their confession proceeds from unbelief and is used to manipulate God.

It is okay to tell others if you want to, but don’t do it to prove your faith or to convince God. You just need to convince yourself that God loves you and delights in blessing you. Just say to yourself, “By His stripes I am healed. I am fruitful. I will not suffer lack. I am greatly blessed, highly favoured, deeply loved!” And let God take care of the rest.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Life Above The Sun

John 10:10
10… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

When you are not enjoying abundant life, you will feel as if life is full of toils. In your heart, life is meaningless and empty. You feel like someone “grasping for the wind”. (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

It seems as if nothing you do adds up to much. The Bible calls this life “under the sun”. (Ecclesiastes 2:11) Someone who lives life under the sun may or may not know God, but God is either forgotten or not the centre of things in his life. His thoughts are earthly and he does things to gratify his flesh. In the end, he finds life depressing and unfulfilled. Life under the sun is full of despair.

But this is not so with someone who lives life above the sun with God. For life with God is filled with joy and pleasures at His right hand. (Psalm 16:11) Life is abundantly full and good just as Jesus promised — “...I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

When you live life above the sun, your thoughts are heavenward and you become Christ occupied. And you live for Him because you know that all things were created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16) When you live for His glory, your life takes on a new meaning and purpose.

God’s Word says, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17) The Greek word for “consist” means “held together”. In Christ, all things are held together. And that is why when Christ is the central figure in your life, you will have it all together. Your mind will be held together. Your hopes and dreams will be held together. Your family will be held together by the cords of His love. You will not lose anything in life.

Your life will not be empty but full and filled because “Christ in you, [is] the hope of glory”. (Colossians 1:27) It is a wonderful life — this life lived above the sun. And you will have an even more wonderful life to come in heaven!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Be Conscious Of Your Everlasting Righteousness

Daniel 9:24
24“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness…

On Sunday, we hear a message that says, “I’m the righteousness of God in Christ.” On Monday, we are still confessing, “I’m the righteousness of God in Christ.” But come Wednesday or Thursday, we begin to confess our sins! Then, when Sunday comes, we get a fresh revelation of our righteousness in Christ and we start to confess our righteousness again. Why do we do that?

It cannot be that on Sunday, we are righteous. Then, a few days later, we become unrighteous because of sin, but are “re-righteoused” when Sunday comes again. No, our righteousness is an “everlasting righteousness”! Jesus has obtained “eternal redemption” for us. (Hebrews 9:12) By one offering of Himself, He has “perfected forever” them that are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

“But Pastor Prince, I just sinned. How can I still be righteous?”

My friend, it is not what you do that makes you righteous. It is what Christ has done at Calvary. Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man’s [Adam] disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” It is the obedience of one Man — Christ, and not your obedience, that has made you righteous!

God wants you established in what Christ has done. He wants you conscious of your everlasting righteousness in Christ. How do you do that? You can listen to anointed messages that remind you of your righteousness in Christ. And don’t just know it in your head. Speak it. Every morning, tell yourself, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ!” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

You don’t need a revelation of how sinful you are. You know it when you sin. The devil reminds you of your sins. Even your friends and loved ones sometimes point out our sins. What you need, instead, is a revelation of how forever righteous you are in God’s eyes, especially when you sin.

And when you are conscious of this gift of righteousness that is everlasting, you will reign in life! (Romans 5:17) You will reign over sin, bad habits, sicknesses, lack and everything that holds you back from a victorious life!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

God Is Not Judging You!

Romans 8:33
33Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

In some circles, people see God as a judge who has exacting demands for man. And when they fall short or when things go wrong in their lives, they feel that God is judging them.

My friend, the truth is that if you are a believer, God does not bring any charge against you. Instead, He justifies you because of the blood of His Son. In fact, God’s Word goes on to say that the One who has the right to condemn you, chose instead to die for you, and is risen at the Father’s right hand to be your righteousness! (Romans 8:34)

But what the devil tries to do is to get you to believe that God watches you with a critical eye and judges you when you do wrong. Satan has deceived many sincere Christians into believing that if they have done something wrong, sickness or some other evil thing has a right to come onto their bodies or into their families. And when these things happen, he convinces them that they are suffering God’s judgment because of their wrongdoing. In the meantime, these sincere Christians struggle with condemnation because they think that they are the cause of these problems.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Ever since the cross, where Jesus was judged in your place for every one of your wrong actions, thoughts and words, God no longer judges His children. You need not accept condemnation or evil things happening to you because Jesus took your punishment at the cross.

So when you start to feel condemned for your actions or when you experience negative circumstances, say, “It is written: It is God who justifies me. I am completely forgiven and made righteous before Him. I refuse to accept condemnation and I reject every symptom of the curse that I am seeing in my circumstances!”

Then, simply stand on the truth of God’s Word, and watch Him bless and deliver you!

Monday, June 2, 2008

See God As The Good Father

Luke 15:31
31“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.

Faith is believing that we have a good God, and that He protects and provides for those who trust in Him.

Remember the parable of the prodigal son? (Luke 15:11–32) Jesus shared it to illustrate how good our heavenly Father is. The wayward son had squandered his father’s inheritance before he decided to go home to ask his father to make him a hired servant.

But before he could reach home, his father saw him from afar, ran towards him and embraced him. And instead of making him a hired servant, he turned to his servants and said, “Bring out the best robe! Get a ring and sandals for my son! Let’s kill the fatted calf and celebrate!”

Now, when the older son returned from work and heard about the celebration, he became angry and refused to enter the house. When his father came out to ask him what was wrong, the older son complained, “Look, I’ve served you all these years. Yet, you never gave me a calf to celebrate with my friends. But as soon as this prodigal son of yours comes home, you kill the fatted calf for him!”

Notice what his father told him: “Son, you are always with me and all that that I have is yours. We should celebrate because your brother was dead but is alive again. He was lost but is now found.”

Can you see how the older brother perceived his father? He saw his father as a hard and stingy man. He believed that he had to work to get something good from his father. He didn’t realise that he already had an inheritance! He could have killed the fatted calf anytime for a celebration!

Like the father in the parable, God has already given you an inheritance in Christ. Don’t fail to enjoy it by doubting God’s goodness or by believing that you must work for it. See your Father’s heart of love and goodness towards you, and celebrate your inheritance today!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

The Lord Is Your Refuge

Psalm 91:1–2
1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

Every day, we are bombarded with news of conflicts, natural disasters, diseases and new strains of drug-resistant viruses. We also hear of people losing their loved ones in freak accidents. And we ask ourselves, “Is there a place where I can take refuge from a world gone mad?”

Yes, there is! God foresaw all these things and He has promised in His Word protection from every evil known to man. There is no trap set by the devil that our Father cannot deliver us from, if we trust in Him and take Him as our refuge. That is His promise in Psalm 91.

Whether it is an earthquake at midnight, a crazy sniper, an unknown virus or a terrorist attack at noonday, God says, “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.” (Psalm 91:5–6)

Because you have made Him your dwelling place, angels are watching over you right now. (Psalm 91:9–11) They give heed to the voice of God’s Word, so you should give voice to God’s Word. This means that you should agree with and speak what God’s Word says about His preserving and protecting you. Then, angels are sent to minister to you. (Hebrews 1:14)

My friend, don’t say, “If it can happen to them, it can also happen to me!” Say, “A thousand may fall at my side and 10,000 at my right hand, but it will not come near me!” (Psalm 91:7) The world says that there is danger everywhere. God says, “You are in this world but not of this world. You have My protection because you are of Me and in Me.” (John 17:14–23)

You have access by faith into the secret place of the Most High where no evil can touch you. There is no need to fear living in the end times because the Lord is your refuge and your fortress. His Word says so. And those who trust His Word completely, find His Word completely true!

My Life With Jesus...