Working Out Of Rest by Joseph Prince

Working Out Of Rest by Joseph Prince

Hebrews 4:3
3 For 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 explain by sharing with you what the Lord had taught me.

Many years ago, when I first started preaching, I would prepare diligently for all my sermons. I fine-tuned my points and 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 remember to share it?”

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, and I pray that it will bless you too. He said, “Prepare everything you need to. But when you stand in front of the people, whatever you need to say, I will give 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, but don’t depend on your preparation. 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 lose your rest by thinking, “I must know everything! I must remember everything and do 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!




© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
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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 © 2006–2012 New Creation Church




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Not Satisfied With Just Being Saved

Genesis 12:7
7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

I don’t know about you, but I am not satisfied with just knowing that I am righteous by faith. I also want to get to know the One who made me righteous. I want to have an intimate relationship with my Savior!

Abraham was such a man. He was righteous by faith, but he also had a close walk with God and was blessed by God in all things. (Genesis 24:1) His nephew Lot, on the other hand, although righteous too (2 Peter 2:7–8), had no heart for God. He ended up losing a lot when Sodom, the city he dwelt in, was destroyed along with Gomorrah. He was saved by the skin of his teeth!

My friend, do you want to be a Christian like Lot, righteous but always finding yourself in trouble, or do you want to be a righteous-and-blessed Christian like Abraham? Then, like Abraham, have a heart for God.

From place to place, Abraham would build an altar to the Lord. And in between altars, he grew very rich! (Genesis 13:2) There is no biblical record, however, of Lot ever building an altar to the Lord.

What is an “altar” in today’s context? It is a place where you know that you have a close relationship with God. For example, when my late father was in the hospital, I was worried and did not know what to do. I remember driving down the road and crying. After a while, I just threw my cares to the Lord. When I reached the hospital, I just laid my hands on my father and said, “Be healed in Jesus’ name.” And he was healed!

Till today, I can remember the place where I had cast my cares to the Lord and leaned on His love for me. That is my “altar”. And it is not the only one.

We have got to have this kind of relationship with God, one full of “altars” that remind us of His love, goodness and faithfulness. Let’s not live the Christian life like Lot, saved by the skin of our teeth. Let’s walk closely with God as Abraham did, and be richly blessed in every area of our lives!

Speak Blessings Over Your Family

Psalm 5:12
12For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.

What do you believe and say to your loved ones every day? For orthodox Jews, on Friday evenings in their homes, the father lays his hands on his children and pronounces God’s blessings over them. No wonder Jewish children grow up to be winners in the fight of life! They become some of the world’s greatest inventors, bankers, musicians and entertainers.

Although a minority race, the Jews have produced the most number of Nobel Prize winners. I believe that it is because they bless their children in the same way the patriarchs of the Old Testament did. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob released God’s blessings upon their children by laying hands on them and speaking forth the blessings. (Genesis 27:27–29, 38–40; 48:14–16)

In the New Testament, the apostles pronounced blessings over the churches they were preaching to. To the church in Philippi, Paul declared, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) John released a powerful blessing upon Gaius when he said, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” (3 John 1:2)

Even Jesus pronounced a blessing of deliverance on the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman — “go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter”. (Mark 7:29) This was a blessing of deliverance by proxy. The woman took it by faith and found that her daughter was well when she reached home. (Mark 7:30) Likewise, the centurion took the blessing by faith and healing came upon his servant back home. (Matthew 8:8–13)

The parents of a little girl did the same thing while worshiping in our church. Their daughter was in hospital in the final stages of cancer. When I pronounced the blessing of healing that Sunday, they received it and pronounced it over their daughter. She was soon discharged from the hospital healed!

My friend, bless your loved ones. Declare over them, “The Lord blesses you and surrounds you with His favor as with a shield.” Speak forth your own blessings by declaring, “Thank You Lord, You prosper me and I am in excellent health!”

Fight From Victory, Not For Victory

Ephesians 6:11
11Put on the whole amour of God, that you may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

God does not need you to defeat the devil today. Jesus has already done it and given you the victory. (Colossians 2:15, Romans 8:37) Your part is to enforce the victory by simply standing your ground, which is victory ground. In other words, you “fight” from victory ground by standing. You don’t fight for victory.

In Ephesians 6:10–18, the passage on spiritual warfare, the word “wrestle” appears only once (verse 12), while the word “stand” appears four times — “stand against the wiles of the devil”, “withstand in the evil day”, “having done all, to stand”, “Stand therefore”. (Verses 11, 13–14) Four times the Holy Spirit tells us to stand. Yet, many Christians are focusing on wrestling their way to victory!

My friend, you are already on victory ground. You already have everything in Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:21, 23) You are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3) The devil knows this. And that is why his tactic is to deceive you and make you think that you don’t have the victory.

So when he attacks you by saying, “Look at that small sum in your bank account! How are you going to pay the bills?” stand your ground. Declare, “I am not trying to be rich, I am rich. In Christ, I am rich!” It doesn’t matter how much you have in the bank. You are rich because you are in Christ. And as the need arises, the supply will be there if you believe that you are already rich.

It is the same with healing. The devil will try to attack you with symptoms in your body. He will try to put pain in your body, and make you feel weak here and there, so that you think that you are still sick. He is trying to make you believe that you don’t have your healing. That is the time to be conscious of Jesus’ finished work and declare, “I am not trying to get healed, I am healed! I am standing on the victory ground which Jesus has given me!”

Beloved, it makes a world of difference when you fight from victory and not for victory!

Don’t Be Dust-Conscious

Luke 13:11
11And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.

Imagine being bowed over for 18 years. All you would see is the dust on the ground. That was the predicament of the woman in Luke 13. Dust was all her eyes fell on, all the time, everywhere she went, until she became dust-conscious. Thank God she finally saw the beautiful feet of Jesus, who brought her good news and raised her up.

Now, dust is the devil’s food. The Bible tells us that God cursed the devil to eat dust all the days of his life. (Genesis 3:14) Dust represents death. (Genesis 3:19) The devil wants you to be like him — to fall flat on your belly, crawl and eat dust. To eat dust is to feed on your shortcomings and lack, until you constantly feel that there is so much in your life that you need to clean up. You may not be physically bowed over, but like the woman, you become dust-conscious and life every day is a struggle.

Having a dust-consciousness also affects the way you see others. You look at people’s faults all the time. You point out their shortcomings and rake up their past failures. When you are dust-conscious, you find your relationships robbed of peace and joy.

And if you, like the woman, keep looking at the dust, before long, that inward position of dust-consciousness becomes so entrenched that you become the devil’s food because dust is what he eats. God’s Word describes him as being like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

If you don’t want to be devoured by him, then lift your eyes above the dust! Instead of looking at your failures, look to Christ who has delivered you from every defeat. See yourself the way God sees you — righteous and holy in Christ. (Colossians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 5:21) You are not dust because you are not in and of the flesh — you are in and of the Spirit. (Romans 8:9)

My friend, the more you realize who you are in Christ, the more you will straighten up and walk the way God sees you — a new creation with His authority, power and overcoming Spirit!

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!

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!

Redeemed From The Curse Of Sickness!

This message from Pastor Joseph is awesome!
Are you ready?

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!”

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

How You Know You Will Inherit It

Psalm 89:34
34My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.

When God promises you something, do you take Him at His Word? Or do you, like Abraham, ask, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” (Genesis 15:8)

God did not reprimand Abraham for failing to take Him at His Word. That is how gracious God is to His people. He even came down to Abraham’s level of faith and did something to assure Abraham that He would always keep His promises — He made a covenant with Abraham. (Genesis 15:9–17)

God did not do it for His own benefit. God is a God of His Word. He does not break His Word. But He bound Himself to a covenant because He knew that Abraham needed to know in his heart that He would do whatever He had promised him.

Man finds it hard to just believe words. For example, when you buy a house, a contract is drawn up and signed by both parties, and lawyers are involved. You need a contract because you cannot trust the other person’s words and he cannot trust yours either.

Likewise, we find it hard to take God at His Word. So God makes a covenant with us, not because He cannot be trusted, but because He knows that we find it hard to just believe what He says. God knows that man will wonder, “What if God wakes up on the wrong side of His bed tomorrow and decides to fry me instead of bless me?”

But because God has made a new covenant with us, which is established by the blood of His Son, we can, like Abraham, not waver through unbelief regarding the promises of God, but be strengthened in our faith, being fully persuaded that God will do as He has promised. (Romans 4:20–21) We have the assurance that God will not wake up one day and say, “Forget the new covenant. I want to remember your sins now and curse you instead of bless you!”

My friend, the new covenant blessings for you are guaranteed because God has bound Himself to the covenant. And He is a covenant-keeping God who is willing and more than able to do everything He has promised you!

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)

Christ-like Ways To Reduce Stress

An Angel says, "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice."

1. Pray.

2. Go to bed on time.

3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.

4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.

5. Delegate tasks to capable others.

6. Simplify and unclutter your life.

7. Less is more. ( Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)

8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.

9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.

10. Take one day at a time.

11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety.
If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.

12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.

13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps,etc.

14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.

15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.:)

16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.

17. Get enough rest.

18. Eat right.

19. Get organized so everything has its place.

20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.

21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.

22. Every day, find time to be alone.

23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.

24. Make friends with Godly people.

25. Keep a folder of favourite scriptures on hand.

26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good " Thank you, Jesus."

27. Laugh.

28. Laugh some more!

29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.

30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can.)

31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).

32. Sit on your ego.

33. Talk less; listen more.

34. Slow down.

35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.

36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU>

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"
(Romans 8:31)

:)

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!