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!”
Feed your FAITH and your doubts will STARVE.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
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!
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!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, August 11, 2008
God Uses The Weak To Confound The Mighty
1 Corinthians 1:27
27But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
When you are faced with a big challenge, do you automatically look for the most powerful means to solve the problem? Well, my friend, that is not thinking the way God thinks. The Bible tells us that it pleases God to use what the world considers weak, foolish, base and despised to bring to nothing things which are mighty.
“What is that in your hand?” God asked.
“A rod,” Moses said. And with that rod, he performed miracles and confounded the might of Pharaoh.
“Five loaves and two fish,” a little boy said. And with that little boy’s lunch, Jesus fed 5,000 men, and his disciples gathered 12 baskets full of leftovers.
“The jawbone of an ass,” Samson said. And with that, he slew a thousand Philistines, who were the enemies of God’s people.
“Five stones and a sling,” said David the shepherd boy. And with one of his stones and the sling, he brought down Goliath, the mighty Philistine champion.
At a recent conference for Hokkien-speaking pastors, Pastor Mark, our Hokkien and Mandarin services pastor, realized how his spoken Hokkien pales in comparison to the refined and flawless Hokkien spoken by the other pastors there. Yet, it pleases God to use Pastor Mark’s colloquial Hokkien to lead many dialect-speaking folks, especially the elderly, to Christ.
Many of these elderly folks are testifying that for the first time in their lives, they are set free completely from fears of debilitating diseases, loneliness, deep-rooted superstitions, generational curses, the ravages of old age and even death.
My friend, don’t despise what seems weak and insignificant to the world. God can use them to bring down the giants in your life!
27But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
When you are faced with a big challenge, do you automatically look for the most powerful means to solve the problem? Well, my friend, that is not thinking the way God thinks. The Bible tells us that it pleases God to use what the world considers weak, foolish, base and despised to bring to nothing things which are mighty.
“What is that in your hand?” God asked.
“A rod,” Moses said. And with that rod, he performed miracles and confounded the might of Pharaoh.
“Five loaves and two fish,” a little boy said. And with that little boy’s lunch, Jesus fed 5,000 men, and his disciples gathered 12 baskets full of leftovers.
“The jawbone of an ass,” Samson said. And with that, he slew a thousand Philistines, who were the enemies of God’s people.
“Five stones and a sling,” said David the shepherd boy. And with one of his stones and the sling, he brought down Goliath, the mighty Philistine champion.
At a recent conference for Hokkien-speaking pastors, Pastor Mark, our Hokkien and Mandarin services pastor, realized how his spoken Hokkien pales in comparison to the refined and flawless Hokkien spoken by the other pastors there. Yet, it pleases God to use Pastor Mark’s colloquial Hokkien to lead many dialect-speaking folks, especially the elderly, to Christ.
Many of these elderly folks are testifying that for the first time in their lives, they are set free completely from fears of debilitating diseases, loneliness, deep-rooted superstitions, generational curses, the ravages of old age and even death.
My friend, don’t despise what seems weak and insignificant to the world. God can use them to bring down the giants in your life!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Make Your Temple A House Of Prayer
Mark 11:17
17Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves’.”
It would be great if every time we prayed, the answers came quickly. Thank God for immediate results, but what do we do when the results are not immediate? The promises of God are there for us, but when they have yet to manifest in our circumstances, what should we do in the meantime?
Jesus showed us what to do. After He had cursed the fig tree, the tree did not wither immediately. (Mark 11:14) What did He do then? He went to the temple in Jerusalem and cleansed it, saying that it should be a house of prayer and not a den of thieves. (Mark 11:15–17) After cleansing the temple, when the disciples saw the same fig tree the next day, it had dried up from its roots! (Mark 11:20–21)
Today, you are the temple of God. (1 Corinthians 3:16) And your temple should be a “house of prayer” or it becomes a “den of thieves”. These thieves, or powers of darkness, will steal and rob from your temple, which is your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19) They will steal and rob you of your strength, health, youthfulness, wisdom, hopes and dreams.
So make your temple a house of prayer by praying in tongues frequently. (Ephesians 6:18) When you pray in the Spirit, you are praying perfect prayers. This is because the Spirit Himself makes intercession for you when He prays through you in tongues. (Romans 8:26)
“Pastor Prince, how long must I pray?”
Well, how often in a day does the enemy attack you with fears, anxieties and worries? How often does that disease in your body remind you that it is there? How healthy and whole do you want to be?
Beloved, as you make your temple a house of prayer, the powers of darkness that have been stealing or robbing from you will be driven out of your life completely. You will see the manifestation of what you have spoken over your circumstances and you will see the withering of what you have cursed!
17Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves’.”
It would be great if every time we prayed, the answers came quickly. Thank God for immediate results, but what do we do when the results are not immediate? The promises of God are there for us, but when they have yet to manifest in our circumstances, what should we do in the meantime?
Jesus showed us what to do. After He had cursed the fig tree, the tree did not wither immediately. (Mark 11:14) What did He do then? He went to the temple in Jerusalem and cleansed it, saying that it should be a house of prayer and not a den of thieves. (Mark 11:15–17) After cleansing the temple, when the disciples saw the same fig tree the next day, it had dried up from its roots! (Mark 11:20–21)
Today, you are the temple of God. (1 Corinthians 3:16) And your temple should be a “house of prayer” or it becomes a “den of thieves”. These thieves, or powers of darkness, will steal and rob from your temple, which is your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19) They will steal and rob you of your strength, health, youthfulness, wisdom, hopes and dreams.
So make your temple a house of prayer by praying in tongues frequently. (Ephesians 6:18) When you pray in the Spirit, you are praying perfect prayers. This is because the Spirit Himself makes intercession for you when He prays through you in tongues. (Romans 8:26)
“Pastor Prince, how long must I pray?”
Well, how often in a day does the enemy attack you with fears, anxieties and worries? How often does that disease in your body remind you that it is there? How healthy and whole do you want to be?
Beloved, as you make your temple a house of prayer, the powers of darkness that have been stealing or robbing from you will be driven out of your life completely. You will see the manifestation of what you have spoken over your circumstances and you will see the withering of what you have cursed!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Grace And Peace Multiplied To You
2 Peter 1:2–3
2Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
Imagine if God were to visit you in a dream tonight and ask you what He could do for you. What would you say to Him? Would you ask Him to give you a deeper knowledge of Jesus our Lord?
God’s Word tells us that when you receive revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, it will cause grace and peace to be multiplied in your life. It will cause you to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness.
What is grace? It is the unmerited, unearned and undeserved favor of God shown to us. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s grace. But the more we learn of the beauty and love of our Lord Jesus, the more we see His perfect work on the cross, and the more we position ourselves to receive a multiplication of God’s grace in our lives.
The verse says that peace too, is multiplied to us through the knowledge of Jesus our Lord. The peace of God sets our hearts free from fear, stress, worries, anxieties and cares. Wouldn’t you want to have the peace of God presiding over your heart always?
God’s divine power has given us all things that pertain not just to godliness, but to life as well. Wouldn’t you say that health, money, a good job and a nice home for your family pertain to life? Well, all these things and everything else which God has already given is released to you through the knowledge of Jesus our Lord.
So let’s ask God every day, “Father, give me wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus.” For to know Jesus is to have grace and peace multiplied to us. To know Jesus is to receive all things pertaining to life and godliness!
2Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
Imagine if God were to visit you in a dream tonight and ask you what He could do for you. What would you say to Him? Would you ask Him to give you a deeper knowledge of Jesus our Lord?
God’s Word tells us that when you receive revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, it will cause grace and peace to be multiplied in your life. It will cause you to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness.
What is grace? It is the unmerited, unearned and undeserved favor of God shown to us. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s grace. But the more we learn of the beauty and love of our Lord Jesus, the more we see His perfect work on the cross, and the more we position ourselves to receive a multiplication of God’s grace in our lives.
The verse says that peace too, is multiplied to us through the knowledge of Jesus our Lord. The peace of God sets our hearts free from fear, stress, worries, anxieties and cares. Wouldn’t you want to have the peace of God presiding over your heart always?
God’s divine power has given us all things that pertain not just to godliness, but to life as well. Wouldn’t you say that health, money, a good job and a nice home for your family pertain to life? Well, all these things and everything else which God has already given is released to you through the knowledge of Jesus our Lord.
So let’s ask God every day, “Father, give me wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus.” For to know Jesus is to have grace and peace multiplied to us. To know Jesus is to receive all things pertaining to life and godliness!
Receive As You Hear The Good News
Romans 1:16
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…
If you have been to motivational seminars, you would probably have heard the speakers say, “If you follow these five steps, then you will come to a place of financial increase.” They would probably have told you also that if you don’t succeed, it is because you did not follow the steps correctly or diligently.
Thank God that the gospel or good news does not work like that! The minute you hear or read the good news, and you believe and receive it, His Word goes forth to sozo (the Greek word for “save”) you, making you well, prosperous and whole, “for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes”.
What is the good news? It is that God loves us so much that He gave us His Son to take our beating so that we can have His blessings without having to work for them. Right now, as you are reading this devotional, listening to a preacher or watching a sermon DVD, as you hear God’s Word, His power is released into your situation, working things out for you and turning your situation around for your good.
In Acts 14:8–10, we see Paul preaching the good news in Lystra. A man who was crippled from birth was listening to Paul. Paul, seeing that he had faith to be healed, said, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And the man leaped and walked! He heard the good news, believed it and was healed.
At a leadership conference in Oslo, Norway, where I was speaking, a pastor there shared how a well-respected businessman was healed while listening to one of my sermon CDs. This man was deaf in one ear. And when he was listening to the teaching on the tape, his deaf ear popped open without anyone laying hands on him or praying for him! He was just listening to the good news when his ear opened. Now, that is what I call the power of God unto his salvation, sozo-ing him, making his hearing whole!
My friend, these miracles happen not because we follow some kind of formula faithfully, but because we hear the good news preached and simply believe it!
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…
If you have been to motivational seminars, you would probably have heard the speakers say, “If you follow these five steps, then you will come to a place of financial increase.” They would probably have told you also that if you don’t succeed, it is because you did not follow the steps correctly or diligently.
Thank God that the gospel or good news does not work like that! The minute you hear or read the good news, and you believe and receive it, His Word goes forth to sozo (the Greek word for “save”) you, making you well, prosperous and whole, “for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes”.
What is the good news? It is that God loves us so much that He gave us His Son to take our beating so that we can have His blessings without having to work for them. Right now, as you are reading this devotional, listening to a preacher or watching a sermon DVD, as you hear God’s Word, His power is released into your situation, working things out for you and turning your situation around for your good.
In Acts 14:8–10, we see Paul preaching the good news in Lystra. A man who was crippled from birth was listening to Paul. Paul, seeing that he had faith to be healed, said, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And the man leaped and walked! He heard the good news, believed it and was healed.
At a leadership conference in Oslo, Norway, where I was speaking, a pastor there shared how a well-respected businessman was healed while listening to one of my sermon CDs. This man was deaf in one ear. And when he was listening to the teaching on the tape, his deaf ear popped open without anyone laying hands on him or praying for him! He was just listening to the good news when his ear opened. Now, that is what I call the power of God unto his salvation, sozo-ing him, making his hearing whole!
My friend, these miracles happen not because we follow some kind of formula faithfully, but because we hear the good news preached and simply believe it!
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