Jesus, Our True Passover Lamb by Joseph Prince
Exodus 12:3
3 … every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.
Jews worldwide celebrate the Passover feast. The feast, which has been kept for generations, commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. (Exodus 12:14) The night before the Israelites left Egypt, the destroyer went through the land killing the firstborn of man and beast. Only those households with the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts were spared.
God had told the Israelites, “Take a lamb, a lamb for a household.” It was a lamb for each family. This tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our true Passover Lamb, is for whole families to be saved!
So your children are blessed once you receive Jesus. Your unsaved spouse and grandparents are blessed too, because Jesus is now the Lamb for your whole household. Your unsaved loved ones will enjoy the blessings of the saved. The Bible says that the sanctified will sanctify the unsanctified. (1 Corinthians 7:14) Yes, they will still need to personally receive Jesus as their Savior, but God has marked them for salvation because you are saved!
Now, each household took a lamb which God said had to be without blemish. Why? Because the lamb typified Jesus, the true Lamb of God, who is without sin. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
The lamb was then killed, and its blood put on the two doorposts and lintel of the house (Exodus 12:7), such that it speaks of the cross. Today, the destroyer has to pass over every family that believes in the finished work of Jesus at the cross and puts its faith in His blood, because there has already been a death. The blood proves it — the innocent Lamb for the guilty family!
Jesus also celebrated the Passover the night before He was crucified. But He was instituting the greater Passover. This time, it was not deliverance from Pharaoh and Egypt, but from Satan and his kingdom of darkness! It was not deliverance from slavery in Egypt, but from a life of bondage to sin to a life of liberty as free men in Christ!
Beloved, Jesus, the Lamb of God, sacrificed Himself to set you free. And when the Son sets you free, you are free indeed!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Feed your FAITH and your doubts will STARVE.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Don’t Look Inside The Ark By Joseph Prince
Don’t Look Inside The Ark By Joseph Prince
1 John 2:2
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
In the movie, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the people who tried to look inside the ark were struck dead. What was inside the ark that brought judgment to those who looked into it?
The Bible tells us that the ark held the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod. (Hebrews 9:4) These items were tokens of man’s rebellion. The two tablets of the Ten Commandments represented man’s rejection of God’s standards. The manna represented man’s rejection of God’s provision, and Aaron’s rod, man’s rejection of God’s appointed priesthood.
God did not want to look at these tokens of rebellion. He wanted to be merciful to His people, so He instructed them to place the items in the ark and to cover the ark with its mercy seat, which is also the place where the blood of the animal sacrifices was sprinkled.
Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to sprinkle on the mercy seat the blood of the animal that had been sacrificed. The two cherubim on the mercy seat stood as guardians of God’s righteousness and holiness.
Representing God’s eyes too, they looked at the blood on the mercy seat. As long as the blood was there, the entire nation of Israel was forgiven. God’s judgment passed over them and they were blessed for another year. (Leviticus 16)
Today, the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat is not the blood of bulls and goats, but the precious, eternal blood of the Son of God! (Hebrews 9:12)Jesus is our “mercy seat” for “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world”. The word “propitiation” in the original Greek text is the same word as “mercy seat”. (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:5)
Beloved, God does not see your sins and count them against you because He sees His Son’s blood. He sees His Son’s perfect work that has more than satisfied Him. God does not want you to see your sins either. He does not want you to look inside the ark by focusing on your sins. He wants you to focus on Christ and His finished work!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
1 John 2:2
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
In the movie, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the people who tried to look inside the ark were struck dead. What was inside the ark that brought judgment to those who looked into it?
The Bible tells us that the ark held the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod. (Hebrews 9:4) These items were tokens of man’s rebellion. The two tablets of the Ten Commandments represented man’s rejection of God’s standards. The manna represented man’s rejection of God’s provision, and Aaron’s rod, man’s rejection of God’s appointed priesthood.
God did not want to look at these tokens of rebellion. He wanted to be merciful to His people, so He instructed them to place the items in the ark and to cover the ark with its mercy seat, which is also the place where the blood of the animal sacrifices was sprinkled.
Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to sprinkle on the mercy seat the blood of the animal that had been sacrificed. The two cherubim on the mercy seat stood as guardians of God’s righteousness and holiness.
Representing God’s eyes too, they looked at the blood on the mercy seat. As long as the blood was there, the entire nation of Israel was forgiven. God’s judgment passed over them and they were blessed for another year. (Leviticus 16)
Today, the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat is not the blood of bulls and goats, but the precious, eternal blood of the Son of God! (Hebrews 9:12)Jesus is our “mercy seat” for “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world”. The word “propitiation” in the original Greek text is the same word as “mercy seat”. (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:5)
Beloved, God does not see your sins and count them against you because He sees His Son’s blood. He sees His Son’s perfect work that has more than satisfied Him. God does not want you to see your sins either. He does not want you to look inside the ark by focusing on your sins. He wants you to focus on Christ and His finished work!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, April 16, 2012
Call It Forth! By Joseph Prince
Call It Forth! By Joseph Prince
Romans 4:17
17 … God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
“Pastor Prince, I feel the pain in my body. How can I go around saying that Christ has redeemed me from this sickness? How can I say that by His stripes I am healed?”
Well, God’s way is to call those things that are not as though they are. And because you are made in God’s image, you can also call those things that are not as though they are!
When God wanted to make Abraham a father of many nations, what did He do? He changed the way Abraham talked. At that time, Abraham did not even have a single child from Sarah because she was barren. So how could he become a father of many nations?
God changed the way he talked. How? By changing his name from Abram to Abraham, which means “father of many nations”. (Genesis 17:5)
Just imagine: From then on, every time he met someone, he would say, “Hi, my name is Father Of Many Nations.” Every time dinner was ready, Sarah would call out to Abraham, “Darling… Father Of Many Nations… dinner is ready! Father Of Many Nations…” You can just hear their neighbors saying, “They want a child so much they have gone mad!” But God changed the way Abraham talked so that he called forth what God saw him already blessed with.
You know, when Jesus saw the man with a withered hand, He didn’t say, “My goodness! It is so withered!” He said, “Stretch out your hand!” (Matthew 12:13) He called forth what He wanted. He looked at the paralytic and said, “Rise, take up your bed and go home!” (Matthew 9:6) He didn’t see the way it was in the natural. He saw the way God meant it to be and He called it forth.
Genesis 1 tells us that in the beginning, there was darkness over the face of the whole earth. God saw the darkness and He said, “Light be!” And light was. God called forth what He wanted and it became so! If it had been me or you, we would probably have said, “Whoa! It is so dark!”
My friend, despite the pain, call forth your healing. It is pointless to state the obvious. So change the way you talk. See the way God meant it to be, and start calling forth your healing and wholeness!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Romans 4:17
17 … God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
“Pastor Prince, I feel the pain in my body. How can I go around saying that Christ has redeemed me from this sickness? How can I say that by His stripes I am healed?”
Well, God’s way is to call those things that are not as though they are. And because you are made in God’s image, you can also call those things that are not as though they are!
When God wanted to make Abraham a father of many nations, what did He do? He changed the way Abraham talked. At that time, Abraham did not even have a single child from Sarah because she was barren. So how could he become a father of many nations?
God changed the way he talked. How? By changing his name from Abram to Abraham, which means “father of many nations”. (Genesis 17:5)
Just imagine: From then on, every time he met someone, he would say, “Hi, my name is Father Of Many Nations.” Every time dinner was ready, Sarah would call out to Abraham, “Darling… Father Of Many Nations… dinner is ready! Father Of Many Nations…” You can just hear their neighbors saying, “They want a child so much they have gone mad!” But God changed the way Abraham talked so that he called forth what God saw him already blessed with.
You know, when Jesus saw the man with a withered hand, He didn’t say, “My goodness! It is so withered!” He said, “Stretch out your hand!” (Matthew 12:13) He called forth what He wanted. He looked at the paralytic and said, “Rise, take up your bed and go home!” (Matthew 9:6) He didn’t see the way it was in the natural. He saw the way God meant it to be and He called it forth.
Genesis 1 tells us that in the beginning, there was darkness over the face of the whole earth. God saw the darkness and He said, “Light be!” And light was. God called forth what He wanted and it became so! If it had been me or you, we would probably have said, “Whoa! It is so dark!”
My friend, despite the pain, call forth your healing. It is pointless to state the obvious. So change the way you talk. See the way God meant it to be, and start calling forth your healing and wholeness!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Receive The Word God Has Sent To Heal You By Joseph Prince
Receive The Word God Has Sent To Heal You By Joseph Prince
Psalm 107:20
20 He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Your Bible will do you no good if you leave it on your bedside table, gathering dust. It will do you no good if you hold it like a teddy bear when you are facing your “giants”. But God’s Word will do you a lot of good when you receive it as truth and speak it as truth! Then, you will see your healing and deliverance from every evil condition that has been sent to destroy you!
The Bible says that “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions”. Now, when God wants to heal you, what does He do? He sends His Word. Before God delivers you from your destruction, He sends His Word.
Are you still waiting to experience the blessing of healing that Jesus died on the cross to give you? Don’t feel condemned. Your Father in heaven loves you and wants you well. But how does your healing come? By you receiving His Word on healing that He has already sent you. His promises of healing are all there in your Bible. But have you received them?
During one of our church services, a lady took out her cell phone and started sending text messages of every scripture and almost every key point that I was preaching that day to her friend who was at home dying of cancer. I was telling the congregation to keep confessing the healing scriptures over their bodies, no matter how bad their conditions were. I pointed them to Isaiah 53:5, which says, “By His stripes we are healed.” The lady got so excited that she told her friend to keep believing and confessing it every day!
Her friend, on reading the text messages, simply received the Word of God and confessed it by faith. That very same week, when she went back to the doctor, the doctor could not find a single trace of cancer in her body!
Never underestimate the power of God’s Word. The lady’s friend was healed because she received God’s Word by faith. She gladly read the messages that her friend had sent her, was encouraged by the Word, confessed it and received her miracle. God sent His Word and healed her, and saved her from her destruction!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Psalm 107:20
20 He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Your Bible will do you no good if you leave it on your bedside table, gathering dust. It will do you no good if you hold it like a teddy bear when you are facing your “giants”. But God’s Word will do you a lot of good when you receive it as truth and speak it as truth! Then, you will see your healing and deliverance from every evil condition that has been sent to destroy you!
The Bible says that “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions”. Now, when God wants to heal you, what does He do? He sends His Word. Before God delivers you from your destruction, He sends His Word.
Are you still waiting to experience the blessing of healing that Jesus died on the cross to give you? Don’t feel condemned. Your Father in heaven loves you and wants you well. But how does your healing come? By you receiving His Word on healing that He has already sent you. His promises of healing are all there in your Bible. But have you received them?
During one of our church services, a lady took out her cell phone and started sending text messages of every scripture and almost every key point that I was preaching that day to her friend who was at home dying of cancer. I was telling the congregation to keep confessing the healing scriptures over their bodies, no matter how bad their conditions were. I pointed them to Isaiah 53:5, which says, “By His stripes we are healed.” The lady got so excited that she told her friend to keep believing and confessing it every day!
Her friend, on reading the text messages, simply received the Word of God and confessed it by faith. That very same week, when she went back to the doctor, the doctor could not find a single trace of cancer in her body!
Never underestimate the power of God’s Word. The lady’s friend was healed because she received God’s Word by faith. She gladly read the messages that her friend had sent her, was encouraged by the Word, confessed it and received her miracle. God sent His Word and healed her, and saved her from her destruction!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
God Still Performs Miracles by Joseph Prince
God Still Performs Miracles by Joseph Prince
John 11:40
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
God, who parted the Red Sea, rained manna from heaven, caused the walls of Jericho to fall, shut the lions’ mouths, healed the sick, raised the dead and calmed the sea, still performs miracles today.
However, some Christians doubt that God wants to work a miracle for them today. They believe that there were miracles when Jesus walked the earth, but they think that the day of miracles is over. And they talk about how everything will be perfect one day in the sweet by and by. But God wants us to know that He is still the God of miracles today.
Martha was like one of those Christians. She wondered if Jesus could perform a miracle when her brother Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. So she thought that Jesus was four days too late. That is why she said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21) And even when Jesus said that Lazarus would rise again, she said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:24)
Martha believed that Jesus could perform miracles in the past and would do the same in the future, but she did not believe that He could give her a miracle when she needed it right then. You see, Martha was someone who lived wishing that the past could be changed and believing that the future would be better. But she did not believe that the “I Am” was there to meet her present need.
Today, God stands at the point of your need. What miracle do you need from Him? Believe that He is still the same miracle-working God today. Believe that you will see the glory of God. Believe and you will see your miracle!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
John 11:40
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
God, who parted the Red Sea, rained manna from heaven, caused the walls of Jericho to fall, shut the lions’ mouths, healed the sick, raised the dead and calmed the sea, still performs miracles today.
However, some Christians doubt that God wants to work a miracle for them today. They believe that there were miracles when Jesus walked the earth, but they think that the day of miracles is over. And they talk about how everything will be perfect one day in the sweet by and by. But God wants us to know that He is still the God of miracles today.
Martha was like one of those Christians. She wondered if Jesus could perform a miracle when her brother Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. So she thought that Jesus was four days too late. That is why she said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21) And even when Jesus said that Lazarus would rise again, she said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:24)
Martha believed that Jesus could perform miracles in the past and would do the same in the future, but she did not believe that He could give her a miracle when she needed it right then. You see, Martha was someone who lived wishing that the past could be changed and believing that the future would be better. But she did not believe that the “I Am” was there to meet her present need.
Today, God stands at the point of your need. What miracle do you need from Him? Believe that He is still the same miracle-working God today. Believe that you will see the glory of God. Believe and you will see your miracle!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, April 9, 2012
All That Jesus Is Before God, You Are by Joseph Prince
All That Jesus Is Before God, You Are by Joseph Prince
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
When an Israelite brings an animal as his sin offering, he lays his hand on it before killing it. (Leviticus 4:1–4) By laying his hand on the sin offering, his sins are transferred to the innocent animal. The animal dies for his sins and he goes free.
In contrast, during the burnt offering, when the Israelite lays his hand on the animal (Leviticus 1:3–4), the beauty, worthiness and acceptance of the unblemished animal are transferred to him. God accepts the perfection of the animal sacrifice on his behalf to make atonement for him. Because God accepts the unblemished burnt offering, the offerer now has right standing before God.
Do you know that the two offerings speak of Jesus’ one offering of Himself when He hung on the cross? He is both our sin offering and burnt offering — “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us [as our sin offering], that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [as our burnt offering]”. The moment you put your faith in Him, just by His one sacrifice, your sins were transferred to Him, and His righteousness was transferred to you. That is the grace of God toward you!
As our sin offering, He offered Himself once and for all. (Romans 6:10) The sin offering was never a daily offering because God does not want His people to be sin-conscious. However, the burnt offering was both a morning and evening sacrifice (2 Chronicles 13:11) because God wants His people to be righteousness-conscious.
Beloved, God wants you to lay claim daily to Jesus as your burnt offering and say, “Father, I thank You that Jesus is my burnt offering. All that Jesus is before You — His righteousness, excellence, beauty and perfection — has been transferred to me. Jesus has Your unclouded favor, so I enjoy Your unclouded favor in my life. Jesus is the righteousness of God, so I am the righteousness of God in Christ. As He is before You, so am I.”
Because Jesus became your burnt offering, what He is to the Father today, you are! That is what it means to be in Christ.
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
E
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
When an Israelite brings an animal as his sin offering, he lays his hand on it before killing it. (Leviticus 4:1–4) By laying his hand on the sin offering, his sins are transferred to the innocent animal. The animal dies for his sins and he goes free.
In contrast, during the burnt offering, when the Israelite lays his hand on the animal (Leviticus 1:3–4), the beauty, worthiness and acceptance of the unblemished animal are transferred to him. God accepts the perfection of the animal sacrifice on his behalf to make atonement for him. Because God accepts the unblemished burnt offering, the offerer now has right standing before God.
Do you know that the two offerings speak of Jesus’ one offering of Himself when He hung on the cross? He is both our sin offering and burnt offering — “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us [as our sin offering], that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [as our burnt offering]”. The moment you put your faith in Him, just by His one sacrifice, your sins were transferred to Him, and His righteousness was transferred to you. That is the grace of God toward you!
As our sin offering, He offered Himself once and for all. (Romans 6:10) The sin offering was never a daily offering because God does not want His people to be sin-conscious. However, the burnt offering was both a morning and evening sacrifice (2 Chronicles 13:11) because God wants His people to be righteousness-conscious.
Beloved, God wants you to lay claim daily to Jesus as your burnt offering and say, “Father, I thank You that Jesus is my burnt offering. All that Jesus is before You — His righteousness, excellence, beauty and perfection — has been transferred to me. Jesus has Your unclouded favor, so I enjoy Your unclouded favor in my life. Jesus is the righteousness of God, so I am the righteousness of God in Christ. As He is before You, so am I.”
Because Jesus became your burnt offering, what He is to the Father today, you are! That is what it means to be in Christ.
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
E
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, April 7, 2012
God Is Your Strength By Joseph Prince
God Is Your Strength By Joseph Prince
Ephesians 6:10
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
When you say, “I can manage this problem by myself, Lord,” God says, “Okay, you do it then.” But when you say, “Help me, Lord! I need You. I cannot do this on my own,” God says, “Good, I have been waiting for you to say that. You cannot, but I can. Now, watch Me!” That is how God is — He loves it when you depend on Him.
You see, when you think that you are strong and don’t need God, He cannot help you. But when you need Him and look to Him, He will not leave you weak and helpless. He comes and becomes the strength of your life. He becomes the breakthrough that you need.
A church member with a smoking habit came to me one day and said, “Pastor Prince, please pray that God will help me. I want to stop my smoking habit.”
I told him simply, “You cannot, but God can.”
He replied, “Yes, I know that I can’t. But with God’s help, I will discipline myself and try my best to quit the habit.”
I told him, “No, you cannot, but God can.” I repeated this to him a few times until he realized that it was not his self-discipline or willpower that would help him overcome his smoking habit, but the power of God. He finally understood that true deliverance from this destructive habit would not come by his own strength, but by “[being] strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”.
When I saw him again a few weeks later, he said, “Pastor Prince, since that day, I didn’t even try to stop myself from smoking. But each time I lit up, I told God, ‘I cannot, but You can.’ Then one day, the craving was gone! Jesus has completely delivered me from my bondage to nicotine!” This man experienced true deliverance, not just an outward form of discipline and willpower.
So when you say, “I can do something about it,” you are still relying on your human strength. But when you say to God, “I cannot, but You can,” you have just tapped into the real source of your strength — Jesus. And as you rest in His strength, you will see His power manifesting in your life!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.
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
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Ephesians 6:10
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
When you say, “I can manage this problem by myself, Lord,” God says, “Okay, you do it then.” But when you say, “Help me, Lord! I need You. I cannot do this on my own,” God says, “Good, I have been waiting for you to say that. You cannot, but I can. Now, watch Me!” That is how God is — He loves it when you depend on Him.
You see, when you think that you are strong and don’t need God, He cannot help you. But when you need Him and look to Him, He will not leave you weak and helpless. He comes and becomes the strength of your life. He becomes the breakthrough that you need.
A church member with a smoking habit came to me one day and said, “Pastor Prince, please pray that God will help me. I want to stop my smoking habit.”
I told him simply, “You cannot, but God can.”
He replied, “Yes, I know that I can’t. But with God’s help, I will discipline myself and try my best to quit the habit.”
I told him, “No, you cannot, but God can.” I repeated this to him a few times until he realized that it was not his self-discipline or willpower that would help him overcome his smoking habit, but the power of God. He finally understood that true deliverance from this destructive habit would not come by his own strength, but by “[being] strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”.
When I saw him again a few weeks later, he said, “Pastor Prince, since that day, I didn’t even try to stop myself from smoking. But each time I lit up, I told God, ‘I cannot, but You can.’ Then one day, the craving was gone! Jesus has completely delivered me from my bondage to nicotine!” This man experienced true deliverance, not just an outward form of discipline and willpower.
So when you say, “I can do something about it,” you are still relying on your human strength. But when you say to God, “I cannot, but You can,” you have just tapped into the real source of your strength — Jesus. And as you rest in His strength, you will see His power manifesting in your life!
© 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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