Showing posts with label righteousness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label righteousness. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Your Standing Is Wrapped Up In Jesus

Your Standing Is Wrapped Up In Jesus


Hebrews 2:17
17Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites’ standing as a nation before God was wrapped up in the standing of their high priest. What the high priest was before God, so was the entire nation before God.

If the high priest sinned, he brought guilt on his nation, and God would reject the entire nation no matter how law-abiding the people were or how faithful they were in bringing their sacrifices.

Conversely, if their high priest was without fault and acceptable to God, God would accept the whole nation even if the people were sinful.

Unfortunately, the high priests of Israel often failed because like any human being, they were imperfect.

Thank God that today, you and I have Jesus as our High Priest, who is 100 per cent Man and 100 per cent God. As our High Priest, His standing before God is always right. Jesus is always acceptable and pleasing to the Father. Therefore, we can never lose our acceptance with God because as our High Priest, Jesus only brings righteousness on His people.

In heaven right now, Jesus our High Priest is seated at the right hand of God the Father. (Romans 8:34) This means that God does not look at you. He looks at Jesus. If Jesus is good, you are good. If Jesus is accepted, you are accepted. If God sees Jesus perfect, then He sees you perfect. If Jesus is righteous, then you are righteous. And we know that Jesus our High Priest is good, accepted, perfect and righteous, which means that that is how God sees us!

My friend, you cannot lose your right standing because Jesus Christ is your High Priest. To lose your standing, Jesus has to lose His standing first. But we know that we have in Jesus a High Priest who is perfect and who cannot fail. So you need never be afraid or conscious of your faults when you come before God. Because your standing is completely wrapped up in Jesus your High Priest, you can come to God boldly and receive all that you need from Him!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Flow With Righteousness, Peace And Joy

Flow With Righteousness, Peace And Joy

Romans 14:17
17… the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

If we are supposed to seek first the kingdom of God every day (Matthew 6:33), then we should know what the kingdom of God is in the first place. I used to think that the kingdom of God was the mission fields and that to seek it meant doing missionary work.

Then, I realized that the kingdom of God was not something outside you flowing in — “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking”, but something inside you flowing out — “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”.

So to seek first God’s kingdom means to make it a priority every day to have your inner man flowing with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Righteousness is not your own righteousness based on what you do. It is not good works. It is a gift from Jesus who is your righteousness. (Romans 5:17; 1 Corinthians 1:30) God wants you to be established in the truth that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“Peace be with you” were the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples when He appeared before them after His resurrection. He also showed them His pierced hands and side. (John 20:19–20) God wants you to know that His Son’s finished work has given you peace. Your conscience can be at rest because your sin debt has been settled. You have peace with God and the peace of God.

Joy will come into your heart when you see Jesus in the scriptures, worship songs or anointed preaching. It is the same joy from the Holy Spirit which filled the disciples’ hearts when they saw Jesus, His hands and His side. (John 20:20)

So every day, make it a priority to see yourself righteous in Christ. Don’t be conscious of your sins. Instead, be conscious of your righteousness. And whether you are reading your Bible or listening to anointed preaching, see Jesus with His pierced hands and side, which speak of His finished work. See all your sins forgiven, and you will flow with peace and joy. When you do this, you are seeking the kingdom of God!



© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2006–2009 New Creation Church

Monday, June 15, 2009

The Head And Body Are One

The Head And Body Are One

Colossians 1:18
18And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

God’s Word says that Christ is the head and we the church are His body. So Christ and the church are one. Christ and you are one! You cannot say that God sees Christ the head perfect but His body imperfect. Or that Christ is accepted but His body not accepted. The measure of Jesus’ acceptance with God is the measure of your acceptance with God!

So it makes no sense to say that the head is well but the body sick, that the head is rich but the body poor, or that the head is at rest but the body full of stress. My friend, what Jesus is before God, you His body are. As He is, so are you in this world! (1 John 4:17)

Today, God wants you to lay claim on Christ being your head. Start believing that all His perfections, and the delight and joy that He brings to the Father’s heart, He has set to your account. And you will begin to realize that as Jesus is a sweet-smelling aroma to the Father, so are you!

The more you begin to see that you are one with Christ, the more you will realize that whatever you need right now, He is dispensing to you. If you are sick in your body, Christ your head imparts His health and healing to you. If you lack wisdom, Christ your head freely imparts His wisdom to you. If you have any lack, Christ your head gives you His exceeding riches.

Beloved, have this rich revelation that Christ and you are one. You can never be separated from Christ your head from whom comes all the supply for your body — all the power, wisdom, prosperity and health. So declare, “As He is, so am I in this world!”



© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2009 New Creation Church

Monday, April 20, 2009

Seek First God’s Kingdom

Seek First God’s Kingdom


Matthew 6:31–33
31“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

As a child of God, know that it is your Father’s pleasure to meet all your needs. Jesus Himself tells us, “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” But God does not want you to seek after things. He wants you to seek first His kingdom. And when you do that, all the things that you need will be added to you!

So your first priority every day is to seek His kingdom. The word “first” in verse 33 is the Greek word proton, which means “first in order or importance, holding the highest place in all our affections”. My friend, God wants us to seek first His kingdom, and all things will fall gloriously in place.

We are not to seek after things the way Gentiles do. The word “seek” in “the Gentiles seek” (verse 32) is the Greek word epizeteo. It means “to seek with all their might with much sweat or with much stress”. However, the way God wants us to “seek” in “seek first the kingdom of God” is the Greek word zeteo, which means “to hunger, to desire to worship”. It is simply a hungering, a desiring for the kingdom of God, without any labor or toil.

But what is the kingdom of God? Romans 14:17 tells us that it is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And the kingdom of God dwells within you because the Holy Spirit indwells you. So the kingdom of God is His righteousness, peace and joy in you.

Beloved, if you want to have peace and joy in the Holy Spirit flowing inside you, then seek every day to be conscious of your righteousness in Christ, not your own righteousness, but His righteousness given to you as a gift. Pursue Jesus first. Spend time with Him and listen to His Word. And when you do these things, you are seeking His kingdom and His righteousness, and all the things that you need will be added to you!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Count On God’s Forgiveness

Hebrews 10:2
2... For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.

What are you more conscious of today? Your sins or the fact that you have been forgiven? My friend, don’t be conscious of your sins. Be conscious instead of Jesus and His finished work. The Lamb of God has taken away all your sins at the cross, so count on the fact that you are a forgiven child of God!

No matter what has happened or what you have done, God wants you to know that because of His Son’s finished work, He will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12)

That is why you should not be conscious of your sins. In fact, when you are sin-conscious, the devil brings in condemnation, and the more you receive it and condemn yourself, the more you will find yourself unforgiving toward yourself and even others.

I was told by a pastor friend that when a lady, who had cancer on her face, asked for prayer for healing, the Lord revealed to him that it was self-hatred that was keeping her from receiving her healing. She could not forgive herself and was full of self-condemnation.

When she realized her problem, she counted on the fact that God was merciful to her unrighteousness and that she was already forgiven. She received the love of God. Then, right before the pastor’s eyes, her whole face changed — she received her healing that very moment!

Something happens when you believe that you are forgiven. That is why God says to you, “I want you to believe that all your sins I will remember no more. I want you to believe that you are My child enjoying My mercy and that you can always count on My forgiveness.”

Beloved, remember that all your sins have already been paid for by Jesus on the cross. And the more you count on the fact that you have the Father’s forgiveness and that He does not condemn you because of Jesus’ finished work, the more sin and its effects — sickness, hatred, lack and so on — will lose their grip on you. You will find yourself walking in a greater measure of God’s grace and blessings!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Your Advocate Always Wins Your Case

Your Advocate Always Wins Your Case


1 John 2:1
1My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

If you want a glimpse of some real-life celestial drama, picture this: God the Father sits as Judge of the universe with Jesus Christ at His right hand, who is not only your High Priest, but also your Advocate.

When your accuser, the devil, comes along and says, “You have done this wrong and you have not done that right,” Jesus says, “Father, the devil is right, but My blood has paid for what the devil is accusing him of.”

Then the devil adds, “You have also not been reading the Bible or praying enough. And this morning, you told a lie.”

Again, Jesus will say, “Father, the devil has indeed reported correctly, but My blood has paid for all these failures.”

God the Father will then slam the gavel on the sound block and say, “Case dismissed! Next!”

You need to understand that God can justly declare you innocent and completely righteous because Jesus took your place at the cross, and shed His blood to pay for your sins and condemnation. (2 Corinthians 5:21) God is simply being faithful and just to what Christ has done.

When Jesus rose from the grave, He rose as your Advocate, your lawyer. But unlike most earthly lawyers who take on cases because it serves their interests and wallets, He is a lawyer who is personally interested in your happiness and well-being. Unlike earthly lawyers who are not caught up in the feelings and sufferings of their clients, Jesus went through great sufferings for you and paid with His own life so that you can receive all the blessings of God.

As your Advocate today, Jesus ensures that what He died and suffered to give you, you get! In heaven today, He defends and represents you to ensure that the healing, wholeness, protection and other blessings that He died to give you are enforced in your life. Beloved, have confidence in and rest in the ability of your Advocate!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Everlasting Righteousness

Just long before I became a Christian,
I always thought that doing good things inorder to please
God was the best thing to do.
Boy, I was so wrong.
Because as I was consciously wanting to be good , inside and out
I became so pathetic and paranoid of my actions.
It was so stressful.
and then I asked God, how can be things so stressful
when I just wanted to feel your presence?

Deep within, I knew I was living a lie!

My faith in Him depended on how good my actions were.
If I sinned, I was doomed.
If things were right on me, I was safe.

The TRUTH is, if we believe in Jesus' works in the calvary.
We are clothed in His Righteousness FOREVER.

Yes ,

It's forever!

Because Jesus' came to save us from our own inconsistencies and lies!
God knew that we , with our self-efforts and "right" doings, can never ever
be perfect in this world.
That's why He sent Jesus, so we can become righteous and perfect forever
in His name.


Sharing another powerful message from Pastor Joseph Prince.
Enjoy your day with the new revelation, my friends.


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…

In Sunday, we hear a message that says, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” On Monday, we are still confessing, “I am 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)

“But Pastor Prince, I have 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 your 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, January 6, 2009

You Have First-Class Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21
21For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Some Christians believe that they have to work at becoming more righteous. And they kick themselves when they do wrong. They don’t realize that by doing these things, they are not seeking God’s righteousness, but are trying to establish their own righteousness by their law-keeping and right conduct.

Righteousness is not about right conduct. It is a gift from God to us through Jesus. And since it is a gift, we cannot earn it by our law-keeping and right conduct. We can only receive it!

How do we receive this gift? We receive it through the cross. God made Jesus “who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”. So today, we are the righteousness of God in Christ. We are as righteous as Jesus is!

But some of us think that in the body of Christ, there are different classes of righteousness, like the seating classes in an airplane. They think that some of us have economy-class righteousness, others have business-class righteousness and a select few have first-class righteousness.

That is nonsense! When God gave us Jesus, He became our righteousness. So we have His righteousness. This means that we are 100 per cent righteous in God’s eyes! We cannot but have first-class righteousness!

You might say, “Pastor Prince, I don’t understand. How can I be righteous when I have done wrong?” Think about this: Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us. Jesus knew no sin, did no sin and in Him was no sin. But at the cross, He received our sin and became sin for us.

Likewise, we, who were sinners, knew no righteousness, did no righteousness and in us was no righteousness. But at the cross, we received His righteousness and became the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

At the cross, the divine exchange took place. Jesus took our place so that we might take His place. He did not deserve to be made sin, but He was made sin in our place. We did not deserve to be made righteous, but we were made righteous because we received His righteousness. What good news! What amazing grace!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Righteousness Is Not Right Doing But Right Being

Romans 4:5
5But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

What do you think righteousness is about? Something you do or something you are? Right doing or right being?

The Bible tells us that after Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross, God imputes righteousness not to those who strive to obey the law (Galatians 2:16), but to anyone who simply believes in His Son. Because Christ took our sins and gave us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), the moment we believe in Him, God treats us as righteous apart from our works or obedience. (Romans 4:5–8) This is new-covenant righteousness — a righteousness that comes by faith and not works.

You are not righteous because of how morally upright you are. You are not righteous because you exercise self-control. You are not righteous because you read 10 chapters of the Bible daily. You are not righteous because you feel righteous. But you are the very righteousness of God in Christ solely because the sacrifice of Jesus made you so. When you believe this, your faith is accounted for righteousness.

And this is what God wants you to use your faith for. If you are righteous by your deeds, you don’t need faith. You also don’t need faith to know that you still sin. But you need faith to believe and declare that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, in the midst of your struggles with temptation and sin.

For example, when you feel lousy because you have just shouted at your wife, God wants you to exercise faith to see yourself still righteous in the midst of that failure. This living revelation that you are still righteous will give you the strength to love your wife and reconcile things with her.

But the devil may remind you of your foul temper and question your integrity: “How dare you call yourself righteous when you just did that!” Just ignore his lies and boldly declare," I am not righteous because of what I have done or not done. I am righteous only because of the blood and finished work of Jesus at the cross!”

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

God Wants You Cross-Conscious

1 Corinthians 2:2
2For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church, said that he determined to know nothing among them except “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. In other words, Paul, who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, had his mind full of Jesus and His finished work.

Beloved, God wants your mind full of the cross of Jesus. He wants you cross-conscious.

But what does it mean to be cross-conscious?

To be cross-conscious is to see Jesus, who loves you so much that He willingly died for you on the cross. To be cross-conscious is to look to Jesus, who offered His own body to be punished, so that your body can be free from all punishment.

To be cross-conscious is to fix your eyes on Jesus, who has provided for your deliverance and victory at the cross. At the cross, all your enemies were vanquished. All your diseases were destroyed. Your poverty was removed at the cross. Your sins were wiped out at the cross.

When the Israelites tasted bitterness in the waters of Marah, God showed Moses a tree, which he cast into the waters, making them sweet. (Exodus 15:23–26) The tree represents the cross, which turned the bitter waters sweet. Today, Calvary’s tree has turned your bitter situations sweet. Because of the cross, you can expect to see the bitter situations in your life made sweet!

When the Israelites were bitten by serpents in the wilderness, God told Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole. The pole represents the cross and bronze speaks of judgment. Those who beheld the serpent on the pole lived because they saw their problem — the deadly serpent — nailed and put to death on the cross. (Numbers 21:6–9)

Today, you will not die but live too when you see all your sins judged at the cross, and with that, all your sicknesses, diseases, pains, failures and defeats! At the cross, all that is deadly in your life has been removed!

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!”

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Be Christ-Conscious

Ephesians 1:7
7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

Have you ever woken up in the morning and said, “Today, I will not sin.” And as you leave your house, you say, “I must be careful not to fall into sin today. I don’t want to sin. I will not sin!”

My friend, when you do this, you are no longer Christ-conscious but sin-conscious, even though you have not sinned yet.

Men, have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I don’t want to look at any woman in case I lust”? You are being sin-conscious when you think like that. And sooner or later, you will lust in your heart. You may not sin outwardly, but you will sin inwardly.

Have you also tried confessing every sin? I have! As a teenager, when a bad thought came, I would quickly say, “Sorry Lord, forgive me for this thought in Jesus’ name.” Then, another thought would come and I would quickly say, “Forgive me Lord, for that thought in Jesus’ name.” Then, if I happened to doubt His forgiveness, I would confess my unbelief and ask for forgiveness: “Forgive me Lord, for doubting You.” Before I knew it, I was oppressed in my mind and so sin-conscious instead of Christ-conscious!

My friend, when you fall into sin, God wants you to be Christ-conscious. That means that when you have missed it or blown it, God wants you to be conscious that in Christ, you have forgiveness of sins through His blood. God wants you to be conscious that Christ was wounded and bruised for your sins, and that the chastisement for your peace was upon Him. (Isaiah 53:5)

When you are Christ-conscious, you will have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1) You will know that you are the righteousness of God in Christ because He who knew no sin was made sin for you. (2 Corinthians 5:21) He took your sin and now you have His righteousness.

So when you fall, don’t be conscious of your failure and feel bad or condemned. Instead, be conscious of who you are in Christ, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue your walk with God

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Facts Change But God’s Word Remains

Facts Change But God’s Word Remains


John 8:32
32And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Consider the cold, hard facts that these three people faced: The aunt of a lady in our church saw her X-ray which showed that one of her kidneys was cancerous. A couple in our church read their medical reports which said that they would never be able to produce a child. A lady in our church who acted as a guarantor ended up being asked by the finance company to pay it $34 million.

When such situations hit us and we allow the facts to settle in our hearts, we will end up feeling greatly troubled. But when we let the truth of God’s Word settle it all, we will sense the Holy Spirit bearing witness to the truth that we are believing. He is the Spirit of Truth. (John 16:13) He is not the Spirit of facts and does not bear witness to facts.

It may be a fact that you are sick. The medical experts say that you are sick. The X-ray report shows that you are sick. But God’s Word says that by His stripes you are healed! (Isaiah 53:5) That is the truth about your situation. What is the difference between facts and truth? Facts change, but God’s Word remains!

When God’s people choose to defy the facts and walk instead in His truths regarding their situations, the Holy Spirit in them will bear witness to the truths that they are believing.

The lady with the cancerous kidney underwent an operation to remove the organ. But she received supernatural restoration as later X-rays showed two kidneys instead of one!

The childless couple received their miracle bundle of joy after seven years. Today, they are proud parents of not one, but four children!

The church member with the $34 million debt told the finance company that it was not being fair to her and that God would protect her. The management miraculously decided to cancel her debt!

The next time you are hit by some disturbing facts, let God’s Word settle the truth about your situation. And as the Holy Spirit bears witness to the truths that you are believing, the facts will change and you will receive your miracle!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Lord, I Cannot, But You Can!'

Philippians 2:13
13For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Have you ever tried to break a bad habit on your own? You probably found that when you tried to stop it by sheer will power, you saw improvements for a while, and then bounced back to square one. Worse, you found yourself binging on the very thing that you were trying not to do. And your condition is worse than before you started your “I’m going to quit” programme!

The changes were temporary because it was you doing it.

A church member who had been a chain-smoker used to believe that with will power, he could quit smoking. He would tell himself, “If there is a will, there is a way!” But he discovered that with will power, he could stop smoking for a week or two, and then he would succumb to the pull of nicotine again.

When he turned his life over to God and learnt about God’s grace, he told God, “I realise that I cannot stop smoking. I cannot, but You can, Lord.” And every time he lit up, he would say, “Lord, I am trying to stop smoking, but I cannot. I am trusting You.” He would even say, “I am still righteous because of Jesus’ blood.”

Well, in the same year, all his cravings to smoke vanished! When asked how he succeeded, he would say, “It is entirely God, none of me! It is all by His grace.” This man completely lost all desire to smoke. That is true transformation.

When you receive the grace of God to do for you what you cannot do, you will experience effortless and permanent change on the inside, which in turn changes your actions on the outside. The Bible tells us that God works in us to give us both the will and ability to perform what He desires. God removes the old want to’s and gives us new ones. And He even gives us the power to carry them out!

So look to His grace to do what you cannot do. Say, “Lord, I cannot, but You can!” Then, what you experience will not just merely be behaviour modification, but true and lasting inward transformation!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

You Are Perfect In God’s Eyes

Hebrews 10:12,14, KJV
12But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God… 14For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

God sees you with no flaw, spot or imperfection, so honour His Word and the finished work of His Son by saying, “Amen!” Don’t doubt your perfection in Christ.

To see yourself as far from being perfect is not modesty, but a failure to understand the perfect sacrifice that Jesus has made for you.

The Bible tells us, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified”. Did you get that? You have not only been sanctified, that is, made holy, but by the same offering of His body, you have been perfected. You are both holy and perfect in the eyes of God!

Your sins have been purged perfectly. Today, Jesus is seated at His Father’s right hand not because He is the Son of God (although that is true), but because His work of purging your sins is completely finished and perfect! So instead of being conscious of your sins, which is to have an evil conscience (Hebrews 10:22), you can have a perfect conscience, a conscience that is free from the guilt and condemnation of sins.

When you find yourself conscious of your sins, just say, “Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Your wonderful work at the cross. It is a perfect work that has removed all my sins completely. Holy Spirit, thank you for convicting me of righteousness, not my own, but God’s righteousness given to me as a gift. Keep on convicting me in the days to come, reminding me especially when I fail that I am still the righteousness of God in Christ.”

My friend, God sees you perfect without any spot of sin. He sees you covered in the beautiful white robes of His own righteousness. He treats you like a righteous man because that is what He has made you. So expect good things to happen to you because blessings are on the head of the righteous! (Proverbs 10:6)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Forgive And Let God Take Care Of The Rest

Forgive And Let God Take Care Of The Rest


Ephesians 4:32
32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

People like to say, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget.” Have you heard that before? Now, in the first place, nowhere in the Bible does God tell you to forgive and then to forget. It is not in the Bible! The devil is adding something here to make the whole thing burdensome.

God only tells us to forgive because God in Christ has forgiven us a debt we cannot pay. When we do this, we do ourselves a favour because bitterness and unforgiveness in the heart can sometimes destroy our health!

So just forgive and let God take care of the rest. When you really forgive, sometimes, He makes you forget. But sometimes, you still remember the incident because it was a major thing in your life. Yet, when you look back at it, the pain is no more there. The sting is gone and you are not bitter.

Joseph forgave his brothers before they came and bowed before him. He remembered what they did to him, but he did not remember it with bitterness. (Genesis 50:15–21) So you may remember the incident, but the bitterness is gone because you have put the cross in the picture — “God in Christ forgave me. Daddy, I forgive you. Mama, I forgive you. My cousin, I forgive you.”

When you forgive, forgive by faith, not by your feelings. We live by faith, not feelings. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Some people are waiting for feelings — “I am waiting, Father, for the right emotion to come on me to forgive.” You will wait forever!

No, forgive by faith, and do it once and for all. Spend time in prayer. Take out your diary and write it down: “Father, I bring this person before you. You know what he did to me. Father, as You forgave me through Jesus’ cross, even though I did not deserve it, by faith, I now forgive this person and I let my anger against him go in Jesus’ name. Amen!”

Once you forgive by faith this way, you will see the sting of bitterness removed from your heart. You will experience the peace and joy of God filling your mind, and see a greater measure of wholeness in your body

Monday, May 5, 2008

Working Out Of Rest

Hebrews 4:3
3For we who have believed do enter that rest…

Naturally speaking, when we rest, we don’t work. So what does working out of rest mean? Well, let me share with you what the Lord had taught me.

Many years ago, when I first started preaching, I would prepare diligently for all my sermons. All my points were really fine-tuned and I made sure that everything was in place. I would think to myself, “Man, I am going to share this... and that…”

But when I preached, I would forget to mention certain points. Because of that, I would get angry with myself. I would tell myself, “That was such a good point. Why didn’t I share it? How could I forget?”

Then, God began to speak to me. He said, “Son, your preaching is not out of rest. It is out of your memory.” What He said next changed my life, not just in the area of preaching, but also in every other area of my life, and I pray that it will bless you too. He said, “Prepare what you need to prepare. But when you stand in front of the people, whatever you need to say, I will give it to you.”

Yes, there must be preparation, whether it is your sermon or sales presentation. I am not telling you to be lazy and just do nothing. You need to prepare and do your homework, but don’t depend on it. Just trust God and tell yourself that whatever you forget, God wants it forgotten. And whatever you didn’t plan to say but said, it is because God wanted it said. Don’t be stressed out and brought out of your rest by thinking, “I must know everything, I must remember everything and deliver everything I have prepared!”

No, believe God and be at rest. When the time comes, whatever you need to know, there and then, God will let you know. Whatever you don’t need to know, you don’t need to know. And don’t worry about what you didn’t say — believe that God didn’t want it said.

My friend, when you live life like that — trusting God and resting in His love for you — you become cool and collected. And when you are peaceful and at rest in Him, what you do prospers!

God Helps The Helpless

Psalm 63:7
7Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.

I have had people tell me, “Pastor Prince, please pray for me. I can’t see a way out of the mess I am in. I know this whole thing is my fault. Right now, I don’t even know whether God will hear my prayers.”

If you think about it, a whole lot of our troubles are of our own making. But it is when we deserve the punishment and not the blessing that we can receive grace — the undeserved favour and unmerited help of God!

When we stop trying to be deserving of God’s help, we find God more than willing to be our saviour. But when we continue to try to work things out, we are our own saviours. God will say, “Save yourself because I can’t help you when you don’t need My help.”

You might be thinking, “But Pastor Prince, don’t you know, God helps those who help themselves?”

Contrary to popular belief, this saying that “God helps those who help themselves” is not in the Bible! God does not help those who help themselves. God helps those who are helpless and dependant on Him. He helps those who look to Him as their only source of help for their problem.

If you say, “My problem is that I am so weak.” God says, “That is not a problem. I am your strength.”

If you say, “Lord, my face is the problem. I am ugly.” God says, “My face will shine on yours. I am your glory.”

If you say, “Lord, I am the problem. I am a nobody.” God says, “I will make you a somebody.”

Unfortunately, many of us are still trying to help ourselves, thinking that for certain matters, we don’t really need God. But God says, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Do we really believe that? Or do we believe that without Him, we still can do some things to help ourselves?

Only when we realise that we can do nothing, and are nothing in and of ourselves, can we do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Philippians 4:13) Then, we will see the undeserved, unmerited help and favour of God deliver us from every evil!

My Life With Jesus...