Well, praise the Lord, hallelujah. To Jesus be all the glory and the praise. He is the risen one. Christ is risen. You know, in the book of Acts of the Apostles, you find it every time they preach, they talk about the Resurrection of Jesus even more than the cross. All right, the cross is very important, of course. That's where it all happens, man. That's where our Lord Jesus bore our sins and bore our sicknesses, carried them all away, amen, but they preach in the book of Acts, you find that they preach, every time there's a sermon recorded, you will find the emphasis is on the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. What does that mean for us today, the Resurrection of Jesus?
Now, Jesus was raised not in the same way that the widow of Nain's son was raised from the dead, only to die again, or in the same way that Lazarus was raised, only to die again. Jesus is raised from the dead with a glorified body, never to die again, and the Bible promises that we, in the book of Philippians, our bodies will be transformed. These vile bodies, it says, will be transformed like unto his glorious body, hallelujah. Anytime soon, the Lord is coming back for us, amen? Hallelujah, he's coming back for us. The Bible says, "We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air". I know, right now, in some circles, it's not popular to preach on rapture, or people try to explain away the rapture, saying there is no such thing as rapture.
Well, friend, the word "harpazo" is a "seizing away", and there is no way you can spiritualize the rapture. It's a mystery that God revealed to the apostle Paul, and he says, "I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. We shall not all die, but we shall be transformed in the twinkling of an eye", in an "atomos" second, in the Greek, we shall all be changed, and our bodies will be incorruptible bodies, amen, glorified bodies like Jesus's body, amen. That body could appear and disappear. It is no more confined in time and space, amen. So, likewise, our bodies will be the same, amen. You'll never get tired again. You will never feel bored. You will never, never, ever feel sickness or infirmity in your body. You'll never suffer those things. Any of those things that's from the fall, amen, of Adam that we have inherited in our bodies currently, we won't have it in our bodies anymore, amen?
That's what the Bible says: "We who are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air". Now, it's one thing to be alive because you are young. You're 10 years old, 17, 25, you know, but "we who are alive", that's one group, but if the other is "remain alive", "we who are alive and remain". And Paul said it twice, "We who are alive and remain". It's one thing to be alive because you are young, another thing to "remain alive". It denotes power. In other words, just before the Rapture, there'll be a revelation of overcoming sickness and disease, of overcoming death, a revelation of long life so that these people be like Simeon.
God promised Simeon, in the first coming of Jesus, that Simeon, the elderly man, that prophet of God, will not see death until he sees Yeshua, until he sees Yeshua, and when he held the baby Yeshua in his arms, he said to the Lord, "Now I can depart. My eyes have seen your Yeshua, your salvation". Isn't that beautiful? You know, God works in patterns, same pattern, like the book of Ecclesiastes says, "That which was is that which shall be", amen. So in the first coming of Jesus, the Lord revealed himself, or the angels revealed the first coming of Jesus that "Unto you is born this day in the city of David". Who were the group that they mentioned it to? A group of shepherds. So, likewise, I believe, in the second coming of Christ or even the rapture, we do not know the day nor the hour, but we know it's soon, imminent, but he will reveal it to his shepherds.
How do you explain that verse, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together"? Even though momentarily right now, let's submit to the authorities of the land. They have our interests at heart, amen. Please do not second guess their motive. They're out to make sure that you stay alive during this crisis, amen? They are for us. They are not against us, people, but the Bible's best, of course, is not the forsake ourselves. But notice the latter part, it says, "So much the more as you see the day approaching". In other words, the Lord will cause this coronavirus thing to come to an end, hallelujah, amen, so that we can get ourselves together so much the more as we see the day approaching. But let's not do it, you know, in rebellion. Let's not do it in a way that jeopardize others and all that and say that, you know, "God will protect us", all right? You gotta have faith, and you gotta have wisdom as well. And it's time to apply wisdom during this time to show for the good testimony, amen. Praise the name of Jesus.
And, friend, I just wanna share with you that you may think that this life right now, being quarantined or being confined to your home, is the "new normal", but, no, the Bible tells us very clearly in Matthew 24, Jesus talking about the end times before his coming. He says that "No one knows the day nor the hour, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father, who is in heaven. For as like the days of Noah, people were marrying and giving in marriage, eating and drinking", all this implies crowd. Notice that?
So life was normal. Life was back to normal just prior to the coming of our Lord Jesus. But on that day, the Lord will come without them being aware, and that's the problem with them: Their life becomes so normal, they forget about the coming of the Lord. And I believe that that part there, it cannot be referring to the second coming of Jesus bodily at the end of the seven years of tribulation because the moment we know we are in the year of tribulation, we can number to the seventh year... we know he's coming back, but this one here, he's talking about no one knows the day nor the hour. So it's the Rapture, and I believe that just prior to the Rapture, and the Rapture is so soon right now, so we know that this coronavirus thing will come to an end, and life will go back to being so normal that many people forget the Lord and not even look or even take warning from the Lord's words that he's coming back soon, okay? So praise the Lord.
I wanna share a now word that I believe is gonna bless you and your families back home, and I believe that God has spoken this word in my heart, and I just wanna share it with you, so sit back, relax, and receive the Word. Stay tuned because every word, I felt that this teaching today is more prophetic, and God will show you things that God showed me. Last year, he gave me a word, or, rather, two years ago in 2018, he gave me a word about a new strain of healing coming upon the world. God has released something into the world, a new strain, if you would. I'm using that "strain" in inverted commas, a new release of anointing, a new anointing of healing in the land. It will cause miracles that is unprecedented, miracles like you've never seen it before. But the devil can see what God is doing 'cause he's a spirit being, and he is playing catch-up. So he release things, but when the devil does things, he's always doing things in the sense realm. He's doing things in the physical realm, but "We walk by faith and not by sight".
Let's take this analogy from the times of Moses. When he was born, just before he was born, prior to his birth, you find that, you know, the devil instigated Pharaoh to kill all the Hebrew babies, all right, all the male babies, amen? Now, why did that happen? Because the devil knew their deliverer was coming. So the devil was playing catch-up to something that God has done. Same thing during the time of Jesus. The devil knew that Jesus was born, but the whole world was oblivious to it, but the devil knew. God has done something first. God has initiated something profound, something wonderful, something great, and the devil knows it, but the world was silent because, when he was born, it was quiet. Only the angels appeared to the shepherds, saying to them, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David", but not to the whole world.
In the palace of Herod, life went on as normal. They are partying, carousing, but on that night, God did something already, but it is not visible to the eyes. It is not something that you can touch and feel, and that's what, when God does something, because we are so flesh conscious, we are people that go by the visible, forgetting that, with God, the things that are visible, even this stage, this table here, this stool here, were all passed away. My jacket, my clothes, were all passed away. Even my flesh, this flesh you can see, it's not the permanent flesh. I'll have a glorified body, and I'll be better looking. I'll tell you that, okay? But anything you can see is temporal. Anything that's visible and tangible is temporal. With God, the things that are invisible is eternal, but we are more conscious, we feel like the real life is that which is visible and palpable and tangible, but God is saying, "No, my blessings are spiritual blessings that produces that which is temporal".
So wisdom, for example, you can't see wisdom, but God gives you wisdom, and the wisdom brings in the physical money, amen? Amen. So what we need is the wisdom of God. We need the spiritual blessings. And the Bible says we are all blessed with "every spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ", amen. And let's read Psalms 91, verse 1, once again. It says here, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty". Notice that this is the verse that is the key to all the promises of Psalms 91, where it says, "No evil will befall you". No plague, no COVID-19 virus will come near your dwelling, where it says, "You will not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you".
Surely, he will deliver you. Not maybe. Surely, he will deliver you from... what? From the perilous pestilence. We are seeing a perilous pestilence right now, and the Bible say that God promises to his people, to those who are in the secret place of the Most High, a place of protection, a place of deliverance, amen? But we need to settle this phrase here. What do you mean? 'Cause it's a verse that opens up. It's the gateway to all the blessings and the protection promises of Psalms 91, so we need to settle what is the secret place of the Most High? It says here, "He who dwells in the secret place". In the Hebrew, the word "dwells" is "sit", "yashav", and it's spelled like this, all right? So a little bit of Hebrew today. Just brew your tea, sit down, and learn some Hebrew, amen? "Yod", reading from right to left, "shin", "bet". "Yashav". "Yashav" means "sit down". "Sit down" means "to rest", amen, "to rest". And, for example, in Israel, you hear, "Oh, that 'moshav' is where I stay", amen? From the word "yashav", "my dwelling place".
The reason I'm sharing this is because today there are teachings like "Only a select few can be in the secret place of the Most High. Only those who are especially sanctified can be in the secret place of the Most High". I even hear things like "The secret place is something that, you know, you dwell there, but you don't live there", or "It's not a place, you come and visit once in a while". But, honestly, friend, when we realize the truth of what that place is, you cannot remove yourself from this place. You only have to realize it. Why? Because you are seated with Christ in heavenly places. The secret place is actually the place of the "mashiach", the Messiah of Israel. And the Old Testament, he is in secret form, all right? The Messiah is not yet revealed, so he's in secret place, amen.
He is the secret place, praise God, and we are now the dream of the Psalmist to dwell in the secret place of the Most High where all the blessings of protection will be on you and your family. That dream that he has is our reality, amen. Look at this verse. The Bible says, "God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us". I love this. It says God doesn't just love us. He love us with a great love, amen? "Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come", notice he has made us sit together.
So during this time of Resurrection season that we remember that our Lord was raised from the dead, the Bible tells us, the Lord was raised. When he was raised, he wasn't raised alone. We were raised in him, hallelujah. "He raised us together". Can you see that verse? "He raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus", amen. So whenever you think about the Resurrection of Jesus, think of it as you have a special interest in it because you were raised in him. Whatever happened to Jesus happened to you, and your history with Jesus started, not when Jesus was walking by the shores of Galilee, no, not at that time, but when he was at the cross. That's when God put you and I at the cross, and we were crucified with Christ so that the old man, that part that loves to sin, that part that is rebellious, that part that came from the fallen nature of man, that part that is subject to sickness and disease, that part that is corrupt, was crucified once and for all at the cross.
Now, today, to our experience, the old man seems real, but to God and to faith, it is done away. Hallelujah, it is finished. It is put aside, amen, and the Bible says, "We are all new creations in Christ". So your history in Christ began at the cross. God put you there, and whatever happened to Christ happened to you, and he was buried. We were buried with him, and hence, we demonstrate that when we believe on Christ, we are baptized, and then you are raised together with Christ, together with Christ, and you know how far God raised Christ? The Bible says God raised him far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.
Hey, "COVID-19" is a name, and the Bible says God raised Jesus, and we, in him, far above every name that is named, not only in this world, in the present world, but in the world to come. We have been raised with Christ, and I like to say it like this every morning. When I wake up, I like to say, "Father, I thank you that my family and I, we are in Christ risen", far above the COVID-19 virus. We're gonna see more of that in a while. But notice that our history began at the cross, and from then on, we are irrecoverably, I like to say it that way, forevermore in Christ, amen. God cannot remove you out of Christ because, to do that, all right, he would have to remove Christ. Because today my real identity is Christ, amen. "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life that I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me", amen.
So I have to realize that, I like what John Bunyan said in one of his books. He says that, one time, he was going through the field, and he was bemoaning the fact that he's seen so many, you know, uprising of sinful habits and tendencies and feelings that is untoward in his flesh, in his mind, and he was just bemoaning the fact that he's not as holy as he should be. And, all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit spoke to him, and the Holy Spirit said to him, "Where is your righteousness? Where is your righteousness"? And he looked up to heaven, and the Lord said to him, "There is your righteousness. Jesus at the Father's right hand". So, friend, if somebody asks you, "Are you righteous"? You say, "I'm as righteous as Jesus". "Why"? "Because Jesus is my righteousness. He is the measure of my righteousness", amen? Praise the Lord.
Now, look at this verse. Notice that it says, "God made us sit together with Christ, that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace". In other words, grace is not just a dispensation. It is a dispensation, but grace will go on forever, "that in the ages to come, God might show us the exceeding riches of his grace". There's a show coming, my friend. It's a great show. It's a show like no other show that you've seen on earth, amen? And the Bible says that we'll sit down with him, and God will present a show of the riches of his grace in the ages to come, hallelujah.
Now, back to this again, "yashav", the word for "Sit down", "sit down", the first thing we gotta do in regards to this coronavirus and all that is that you notice that a lot of people are in a state of panic. Many of them are depressed. There are many new cases of people are getting depressed, and psychiatrists are talking about it and on an unprecedented scale. But I wanna tell you this, that God has a place where you can be safe and secure, and every day he wants you not just to know mentally that you are seated with Christ, but every day you come to him and say, "Father, I thank you". Use that place, amen. I say it reverently. Use that place, amen. Say it, "Father, I thank you that my family and I are safe and secure in Christ, in Christ risen, and we are far above every principality and power, far above depression, far above the COVID-19 virus, far above the power of the evil one". And that's, in reality, what you really are right now in God's eyes, and God sees reality.
Now, we ask the question, "But, Pastor Prince, how do you explain that? Because my body is here on earth. I'm tuning in, and I'm watching you in the comfort of my home. My body is on this sofa. And how can you say that I'm seated with Christ"? Well, friend, God is outside time and space. So is your spirit-man. Your spirit-man is outside time and space, amen? You're not confined to time. That's why the cross is outside time. It's outside space. That's why Jesus can die for the sins of all the people in the Old Testament, all the way from Adam, as well as those who came after him, amen. All of us are the post-era of the church, or, rather, the church that came after, amen. We are all the future generation, and he died for our sins as well. Why? Because the cross is outside time, amen, and your spirit-man, even right now as I'm preaching, my spirit-man is seated with Christ in heavenly places, and your spirit is the real you.
You are tripartite. You are three parts. God is a Triune God, all right? He's a Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit - one God. Three distinct persons in one God. God made us in his image. We are tripartite, amen? The real us is a spirit. We have a soul, our mind, and we live in a body, amen. If your heart stops beating, you will step out of your body, amen. If you're wondering, "Hey, who's that good-looking corpse right down there"? And it's you, but you won't be able to communicate with people who are in their bodies because you are now out of your body. But the Bible says we'll not be unclothed, amen? God will still clothe us with a glorified body when Jesus comes again. So all those who die in Christ now, the Bible use the phrase, "they fall asleep", amen, because you'll just step out of your body and realize, even in an accident, all right, your body is damaged and all that. You step out. You're alive. You are more alive than ever because, if you realize it, that body can be an encumbrance, amen?
We have grown accustomed to the encumbrance of the body, that we live with it. We live with the pain, we live with the slowness, but when we step out, we are unlimited. So that's your spirit-man. You are seated with Christ in heavenly places. Now, I wanna share this with you because I like to study some of the Jewish writings and the sages, the Jewish sages of the past, and there is one interesting, Targum Jonathan, Targum Yonatan. It was probably written in the first century, just, give and take, first hundred years after Jesus died, and Targum Yonatan was written, and it's believed that Yonatan, Jonathan ben Uzziel, son of Uzziel, he actually wrote down the oral traditions, oral sharing of prophets Malachi, Zechariah, and Haggai, so that he puts it in one translation called "Targum", which means "translation", "Yonatan", okay?
The reason I'm saying this is because, when Jonathan, or Yonatan, when he translated the Proverbs 18, verse 14, let's look at this verse. It says, "The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit"? And what is interesting is this: When he translated the word "sickness", and the word "sickness" here in the Hebrew is the generic word "machaleh", which means it's just sickness, but when you say, you know, "That person has a sickness", what sickness? Does he have diabetes? All right? Does he have high blood pressure? What kind of sickness? So the word "sickness" is a generic word, but in "Targum Yonatan", in translating this verse, and I believe that he's accurate, and I believe that this is a part... not every Targum's saying is from, you know, is inspired, okay? Some of it, but I think that there's a lot also that, I believe, is an oral tradition because Malachi, Zechariah, and Haggai were prophets. Even though you call them the minor prophets, they were prophets nonetheless, amen. They're only "minor" because their books are shorter, okay? But I believe that this one is accurate.
You know what Jonathan says about this particular word "sickness", of all the sickness? He used the Hebrew word "corona". "The spirit of a man will sustain 'corona'". Now, what is the word sustain? The word sustain here, we think of sustain as, you know, just bear it. Yes, the word "bear" is there in this word "sustain", but the Hebrew word for "sustain" is actually this word kul, which means to protect. You can see these in Gesenius Lexicon. It's not just to sustain to endure, but to protect him in sickness and because of what Jonathan said in his Targum, all right, we can interpret that as the spirit of a man will protect him from corona. It seems like that part is prophetic. That part probably came from one of the prophets, all right, those who came back from the post exile prophet, either Haggai or Zechariah, that part is accurate. It's amazing, it's amazing that this book that was written the first hundred years in 1st century A.D. still record down as corona, amen? But notice what it's saying. The spirit or a man will protect him from corona.
We say that a strong immune system will protect us from Corona. You know, there's always a danger of, my friend, when you start trusting the flesh, and you know that our immune system is part of the flesh. Yes, by all means you can strengthen your immune system. You can take this and that and all that kind of thing, but it's a good thing for the heart to be established with grace and not with food, all right, because all food is fallen. No matter how great the food is, it's fallen. We live in a fallen world, amen. Don't put your trust in creation. Put your trust in redemption, amen, the Lord's Supper, amen, the bread and the wine or the juice. Receive that as the broken body of Jesus. Put your trust for your health in redemption, amen? Praise the Lord. So, it says the spirit of a man will sustain or defend him from corona. And our trust is in that position in Christ alone, the secret place of the Most High. Where we are right now, we need to release our faith by speaking it every day. "Father, I thank you that I'm the secret place of the Most High".
You know, every other month now, we are receiving testimonies after testimonies of people who came really close to someone who had a virus and sometimes even, one of the latest testimonies, they actually came down with some symptoms, only to find after repeated tests that they don't have the virus, amen? And these are people who have been holding on to that promise, amen, the spirit of a man indeed have sustained them, protected them from that Corona, hallelujah. And you know what? If you have Corona, you've been infected with it, your spirit man, the spirit man is seated with Christ in heavenly places will defend you, will sustain you, all right, in this Corona, amen. The Corona will go, and you will remain. Hallelujah, amen.
So, once again, our spirit man is seated with Christ, and that's where we are positionally in the spirit. So, God's way to defeat this plague, amen, is to arise higher, ascend higher. As children of God, we need to put our trust in that which is supernatural. That's the realm we live in, people, amen? Our spirit man cannot be seen, but are spirit man seated with Christ in heavenly places. So, God's answer is always, "Rise higher, my beloved, rise up, my beloved". In fact, in Song of Songs, it tells us that God is saying, rise up. He says, "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see your countenance, let me hear your voice; for sweet is your voice, and your countenance is comely". Let me see your countenance. Let me hear your voice.
During this time, the Lord will love it for us to just come to him and realize that place of nearness to God, because if you're seated with Christ, if you are seated with Christ in heavenly places at the Father's right hand, then God is at your right hand, right? So, you're so close as you pray. You don't have to say, "Father, I come to you", like God is high up there. You know, these are people who are natural people when they pray, people who are not saved, for example, the first time they pray, they always imagine that God is far away, amen. But for the believer, you are so close, you are in the secret place of the Most High, amen. And you pray in that nearness knowing that God is so close to you. And then you pray.
Don't pray as if, you know, people say, "Let's bombard the gates of heaven". Number one, what are you doing outside the gates of heaven? I thought you were in. You ought to be in the place and realize it every day. When you realize it, there goes your fear. Just say, "Father, I thank you that my I'm safe and secure in Christ risen". My family and I are in this place in Christ risen. We are far above the COVID-19 virus. We are far above poverty, far above the financial famine. Thank you, Father. And notice that in Song of Songs it says this, God says, "Let me see your face, amen, and let me hear your voice".
Now, we talk about prayer, and prayer is important. Okay, but what God wants is for you to come before him. He just want you to be there. Even you don't say anything, he wants you to be there. Notice that, let me see your face first. Let me see your countenance. Then let me hear your voice. No, I love my boy. He's now eight years old. He turned eight last month. Sometimes he will call me and talk to me from the other room, and I can hear him. He will say, "Abba", then he go on making his request. I say, "Justin, come over here. Come here". I just love to be with him. I just love to look at him. So, don't make your request out there away where I can't see your face. I want you in front of me because love desires that.
When God says, "Let me see your face", love is talking. He is loving on you. He wants you to be with him. He wants you to come close to him before he hears your voice. He says, "Let me see your face first, then let me hear your voice", amen. And then it says here that in the secret places of the stairs, actually the passage before this is so beautiful. It says, "Rise up, my love". Again, the answer is ascend higher, go to a higher place, amen, above all these troubles, ascend higher. Your call, child of God, is that of a prince and a princess, amen. You have a high call, not this holier than thou attitude which is actually people who are earthbound, people who compare themselves horizontally with others. No, when you arise to where Christ is, you cannot but be grateful. You cannot but be humble, and yet it is not a servile kind of humility. It is a dignified humility.
There's a touch of a royal mean. There's a touch of royalty in your persona, not pride, not I'm holier than you attitude kind of holiness, but a holiness that like Jesus that's approachable, yet you can see even though dressed in a carpenter's garb walking by the sights of the shores of Galilee, you can see him as a prince. You can see him touching, and the leprosy goes, amen, speaking the Word and demons bow, amen. You can see him majestic, noble, princely. Well, when the Bible says God wants to conform all of us to the image of Jesus, that's what God wants for you and I to become, amen? But the responsibilities of grace, and there is responsibilities in grace (in the New Testament, it's full of it) but notice, the responsibilities of grace is not let us become what we are not. No, responsibilities of grace is like this, let us become what we already are.
So, all the exaltations are like this, if you are risen with Christ, notice, seek those things that are above. Since you are risen with Christ, another way of saying it. Since you are risen with Christ, seek those things that are above. The Bible says you are complete in Christ, complete in Christ, right? Now, walk out your completeness as you have received Christ. And how do you receive Christ? By grace through faith. So, walk you in him. How do you walk your Christian life every day down here? By grace through faith. You don't leave the realm of grace.
The responsibilities of legalism, of people who promote the law, for example, is in essence they're saying, "Let us become what we are not. We are not there yet. We're not that holy yet. We are not this yet. We are not overcome that simple habit". So, let us become what we are not. But grace says let us become what we already are. And child of God, in God's eyes, you are righteous. In God's eyes, you are complete, amen? Now, that you're complete in Christ, walk out that completeness. Now that you're righteous in Christ, walk it out in the way you deal with your fellow colleagues, in the way you relate to your wife, your family, walk it out, amen. Walk it out like the prince that you are, amen, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.
Another thing the Bible says that the Lord Jesus is waiting for at this time is at the Father's right hand? Do you know what he's waiting for? Watch this in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. It says, "He must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet". He must reign, not Corona. Even though the word corona in Latin means crown. That's what it means corona. But even seems like this small virus is reigning in the earth, it seems, it seems. But friends, it's just temporal. It's just temporal, amen? Because the real reigning is our Lord Jesus. He must reign till he has put all enemies, and I think I'll put this COVID-19 virus as one of these all enemies. He must reign until even these enemies are under his feet because when he comes again, there's only one enemy left, not COVID-19 virus, not poverty, not depression, not addiction, not sinful bondage.
All enemies by then, one by one, have been put under his feet. The only enemy left is physical death. And he says the last enemy. God calls death an enemy. Don't you ever forget that. It's never the Father's dream, even when he made Adam and Eve, that man should die, that man should grow old, that man should have sickness and disease in his body. That's not the Father's plan. God deems death as an enemy, and until you see that God hates death, God hates sickness and disease, you will never release your faith to believe God for that, amen? So, here it says the last enemy that'll be put under his feet, that'll be destroyed physically is physical death, all right, is physical death.
So, we are waiting until one, so right now he's reigning with every passing day, my friend. It might not seem so, but with every passing day, another enemy has been put under his feet. The victory has been accomplished at the cross, but experientially, a king can have victory over numerous countries. But you know what he does after that? In those days, he'll make the king of that country come before his throne, and one by one, he will put his foot on them. It's a gesture they practice in ancient times, even Bible times, and those enemies, those kings, become his footstool. And we see a glimpse of this in the story of Joshua. Joshua made all the enemies come before his men, and he commanded all his generals, his men, to put their foot on the enemy's necks. It's a picture they'll never forget, amen?
So, the Bible says, God, Jesus will reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. Now, why is that important? Because the Bible says there's a verse of Scripture in talking about Psalmist David says of the Lord Jesus, look at this verse. David himself said in Mark 12, "By the Holy Spirit". So, it's not just a natural utterance of David, it is by the Holy Spirit. He says, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'" Sit on my right hand. So, God is always here, right, the Father is here, amen, and I'm seated at his right hand. The Father is not speaking to me. He's speaking to his Son. "The Lord said to my Lord". In Hebrew Yahweh spoke to my Adoni, my Lord, okay? And by the way, this was the verse that Jesus used to challenge the Pharisees when the Pharisees made the Messiah as lesser than David.
So, David says, "How can David, how can David call him Lord"? And Jesus said how can David call him Lord when the Bible says even the Lord, Yahweh said to my Lord, the Messiah, sit on my right hand, amen? So, David said it. It was uttered by David, so David called him, "My Lord". He called Jesus, the Messiah, "My Lord". So, Jesus is greater than David. He is the root, he produced David, and he is the offspring of David. As deity, he is the root. He produced David. As man, David, he came from David's line, okay? So, the Father says, notice the first here, the Father said to Jesus, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool'". So, we established just now that Jesus will reign, and that's what's happening. With every passing day, all right, with every passing day, my friend, hallelujah, come on. With every passing day, one more enemy is put under his feet. The world for us is gonna get better and better, amen.
In our world, in our world outside is gonna get darker and darker, but for us, every enemy we have, in fact, last month, okay, compared to this month, more enemies have been put under his feet since then. This year, more enemies are put under his feet than last year, because he must reign till all his enemies are under his feet. So, the Father said to him, the Father said to Jesus, "Sit on my right hand". What is that? Rest. Until what? I, not Jesus but the Father. The Father says to him, "Sit on my right hand". All right, the Father said to Jesus, "Sit on my right hand until I make your enemies", name all the enemies you can imagine, that all the enemies, whether it is addiction, whether it's depression, whether it's some sinful bondage that one is in, name it all. COVID-19 virus is an enemy. It's destroying lives. God is out to save lives, all right? So, here we go. God says, "I, sit when you rest at my right hand, I will make all your enemies your footstool", amen? But notice what the Father said first, "Rest, rest and I'll make".
"Pastor Prince, that is what the Lord said to Jesus". But we are raised together with Christ. We are seated with Christ, amen. We are raised with Christ seated with Christ, therefore, we must have the same attitude. If you want to see all your enemies come under your feet and you are in Christ, actually it is brought under Jesus's feet but because you are in him, it is your feet in him. So, the Bible says to you sit down. If you want an enemy defeated in your life, sit down. "Pastor Prince, I have this depression, and I can't sleep at night. It disturbs me at night, and I find that the world's getting darker and darker, and my mind is getting darker and darker. I do not know how to get out of it. The more medicine I take, the more I'm in bondage to more medicine, and I get into a cycle. I can't live without that. But yet, you know, those medicines are making me more depressed".
There's hope, my friend. The first thing you gotta do is rest. The first thing against any challenge in your life, if the devil presents a new challenge, it's a new sitting down, if you will. If the devil says, "What are you gonna do about this"? You say, "Nothing, the Father will make you my footstool". "What are you gonna do about this symptom in your body"? "Nothing, the Father will make that my footstool", amen. When I say nothing, it doesn't mean that the Spirit of God leads you to find some information to go to a doctor or whatever, you ignore that, no, no, no. But I'm saying that your spirit must always be at rest in Christ risen at the Father's right hand, amen?
But many a times when you take this posture, even that symptom goes away. And the devil says, "Well, times are bad, right, will you still have a job in a few months time? Or you're unemployed, are you able to get a job, especially during this season that the world is in"? And God is saying how do you respond to that? "What are you going to do"? The devil is saying, "What are you going to do"? And he will use the mouths of people as well, as well as the prayers and all that saying to you, "What are you gonna do"? The impression is you respond to it as you, but God is saying you do nothing, sit. You just sit. With every fresh challenge that comes, there must be a fresh sitting. You know, the devil tells you, "What are you gonna do about your finances"? You just say, "Well, you know what? I'm gonna rest".
Now, here is where all the voices start screaming and say, "You are so irresponsible. You are so lazy". No, no, no, rest is not laziness. Rest, when you are rested in Christ, you'll find promptings of the Spirit getting clearer, amen. So, rest is not inactivity, rest is spirit-directed activity. You are busy, but yet you are at rest. If you use the analogy of the Bible says you are the temple of God, and the temple of God is three parts. You have the outer court where the animals are, the sacrificial victims are slain and put on the altar. Then you have the holy place where you have the menorah, the lampstand, you have the table of showbread, the altar of incense. And then the Holy of Holies, the third part where you have just the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. Well, that Holy of Holies is our spirit man where the ark, the true Ark of the Covenant, Christ is, amen. And that's where the blood is sprinkled on our hearts.
And then the holy place is actually our soul, right, our soul. Our soul need to be enlightened by the light of the candlestick in the holy place. Our soul need to be nourished, amen, with the bread of life. We need to pray, amen, and prayer produces a shalom, an aggressive peace that garrisons your heart and mind from cares, worries, and anxieties. That's your soul realm. Then the outer court, remember even God's tabernacle is three parts. God's temple is three parts, and you are the temple of God. The outer court is the busiest place. You know, I said just now the priests are cutting, slaying, arranging, putting out fire, amen, removing the ashes, and busy, busy, busy, washing busy, busy, busy, amen? But in the Holy of Holies perfect peace. So, you can be busy outside, you can be doing things, your responsibilities, but don't do it worried. Don't do it hassled. Don't do it, you know, thinking, "What's gonna happen if I don't do this right, I don't do that right"? Just be at rest in sight.
So, being at rest doesn't mean you sit down the whole day, even though it seems like it's happening nowadays and to all of us, but being at rest, you know, you can be sitting down and your mind is working, you're not at rest. Be at rest means you can be busy outside, you can be, you know, doing your work online or whatever, but in your spirit, you are at rest. You are seated. Ensure that happens. Don't let anyone rob you of that, amen. And God promises. What are gonna do with all the enemies that are still around? God says, "You know what, sit down first until I make all your enemies your footstool". So, what am I saying? I'm saying, have this attitude, I call it the throne attitude, okay, the throne attitude. In other words, a throne attitude is I sit down, God will take care of my enemies. And the devil will say, "You're so irresponsible. What are you going to do"? And you tell the devil, "It's not me, the Lord. The battle is the Lord's. I won't touch it", amen.
Just like the tie is the Lord, I won't touch the tithe, the battle is the Lord's. I won't touch it. Amen, I'll just tell the Lord, "Lord, this is your battle". What am I doing? I'm resting and when I rest, he will make my enemies my footstool. In other words, your footstool is a very personal application. All of us have this privilege of sitting down and seeing God make our enemies a footstool, amen? Your footstool. Your footstool is a very personal application. I pray that all of us, family, I pray that all of us will come to that place of sitting down. We're already there. As far as God is concerned, God sees us there already, but we don't realize it in our lives. We don't walk in it, okay?
And one of the pictures I gave to the church is early this year, my first summon this year, and like I always do is to present the the theme of the year. I pray the month before, which is December last year, and I'll pray for the theme of the year, and the Lord will give me the theme of the year. And the theme of the year for our church is the year of time and space. And who would have thought, who would have thought that we'll be in a time where time seems to move so slow and space seems to be restricted? Yet, the first two miracles of Jesus, the very first two miracles, the Bible says this is the first miracle Jesus did. The first two miracles of Jesus was the miracles of time and space. The first miracle, he turned water into wine. You know how long it takes to get excellent wine? Years, even more years for excellent wine. You gotta store it, amen?
So, a few years to get the vineyard to produce good grapes, and a few more years for ordinary wine. And then to get excellent wine, you store it for 30 years, 20 years, 40 years, 50 years to get really good wine, the very expensive wine. Jesus compressed time in one fell swoop because he's the Lord of time, and he can compress time for all of us even during this time, my friend. Hallelujah. Let's pray in Jesus's name that he'll compress time for us, even during this time, amen, because he lives outside time. He can accelerate time. He can compress time, amen. When the time when the disciples were in the boat during a storm, and he stepped into the boat, immediately the Bible says, immediately the boat was at the shore. Call it teleporting, whatever you want to call it, it happened. Time and space was transcended.
And the second miracle of Jesus was the miracle done 25 miles because Jesus was in Cana, this place where the first miracle happened. And a noble men from Capernaum came to Jesus and asking Jesus to heal his son back in Capernaum, which is 25 miles away from where Jesus was. Jesus says, "Go your way, your son lives". You know what? 25, 25 miles away. What vast expanse of space. And the Lord is the Lord of time and space. The boy was healed, hallelujah. So, even during this time we see, you know, it's like we are confined in a narrow space. Our world has become restricted in space. But then spiritually, God is bringing us to a higher place.
You know, let me show you this picture of the Temple of Solomon, which I shared in the first part of the year as the theme of the year. And I want to show you the, I want to show you right now our video that we showed the people for the first time in the first Sunday of this year. And little did I know, there are so many prophetic elements showing what we'll face this year. Praise God, amen? So, now we see the Temple of Solomon, okay, and notice that there are three floors adjoined to it. This reminds me of what Jesus said: "In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you". This is where the priests and the Levites would live. This is where they stayed, and this is where they keep the storehouse of grain, wine, oil, as well as the gold and the silver, and it sticks to our day and age.
Little did I know when I preached this, and the Lord gave me this early in the year, how these three chambers, these three rooms would be opened to us in various times of this year, amen? The first floor as you step in, the first floor is the place of the grain, the wine, and the oil. Now, last year, I released a book on Holy Communion, and I went around America preaching about this truth that God is restoring to the body of Christ, and we are seeing all kinds of miracles. We are receiving all kinds of testimonies as a result of this teaching as well, and the church is rising up and realizing, whoa, you know, God doesn't want us to just remember him once a while, but as often, amen, and how that receiving that body is actually receiving wholeness, and life, and health, for your body, amen.
And little did I know also last year when the emphasis was on the Communion in our preaching, in my preaching here in this church, in my tour all of America, that were gonna usher into a year where the grain, the wine, and the oil will be foremost. And it's the first floor, the first floor is where they gathered all the grain for bread, wine, and the oil, amen? So, you have the Communion with the oil.
Now, this is the firstborn blessings, my friend. When Jacob blessed, or rather Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, remember, all right, Jacob deceived his dad, all right, going in as Esau, the hairy one. But the father gave the blessing nonetheless, notice that the blessing, the difference between Jacob's blessing and Esau's blessing, the firstborn blessing is greater. It has this phrase that Esau's blessing does not have. It says God gave you plenty of grain and wine. God gave you plenty of grain and wine. The problem with us, the church, is that we have forfeited our firstborn blessing. We take the grain and wine as seldom when the Bible says the blessing of the firstborn is plenty of grain and wine, that means we need to partake. If you have a condition in your body, you need to partake it like the way you partake medicine, three times a day. If you do it three times a day, it may give God the same, if not even more respect than you give your medicine. Plenty, you gotta have plenty of grain and wine, amen, and then you're enjoying the firstborn blessings. Hallelujah.
So, that's the first part of the year and who would expect that COVID-19 virus would hit in the first part of the year, right? So, that's the first floor and that's where they store the grain, the wine, and the oil. Now, the way from the first floor, by the way, I need to show you this, that in all the three floors, it's ever-increasing, look at me. The first floor is five, let's look at the verse for this. "The nethermost chamber, the first floor, was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad". Can you see it? So, the nethermost is the first chamber was five cubits, middle six cubits, and the uppermost floor, seven cubits, perfect number, amen? So, it's ever increasing.
Now, it might seem right now your space is ever decreasing, but God is saying, "I'm giving you an ever-increasing space". And we are seeing this happen on online service. More people are tuning in than we would have on a given Sunday. This has never happened before. It's not just my testimony, it's the testimony of all my brothers and my fellow ministers all over the world. They are seeing an unprecedented move of God in causing people to hear the Word of God, to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ preached like never before on an ever-increasing scale, amen?
And my friend Samuel Smadja in Israel just shared with me, he went online as well. He preached online and he said that it was just amazing. After he preached, he had a call from an ultra Orthodox Jewish rabbi who called him and says, "I've never heard preaching like that". He wants to know more, and Samuel led that rabbi to Jesus Christ. Isn't that amazing? And not just that rabbi called, there were others in Israel watching, people that will not be found, or will not want themselves to be found in the church are tuning in, and that's the testaments of many pastors and ministers. So, even though COVID-19 virus is not from God, God is making use of the situation right now, amen.
As every family is hunkered down at home, amen, God is causing hearts to be opened to him, amen. And this season is short, okay? So, let's make the most of this opportunity. Let's redeem the time, amen. So, the Bible says the first floor is five cubits broad, then six cubits. It gets larger, than seven cubits. It's like this, praise the Lord. I wish I have more time to share that because I'll just leave you with this, from the first floor, you know how they go to the second floor? By the winding stairs. Verse 8: "The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third". Out of the middle into the third, okay? Okay, watch this now. From the first floor, you know how you go up the second floor? By the winding stairs, by the winding stairs.
Now, what is the truth of the winding stairs? By the way, this Temple of Solomon wasn't put in the Bible to fill up space, amen. Every part of it, every width of it utters his glory, the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, even the winding stairs, what's the truth of the winding stairs? What's the difference between winding stairs and straight stairs where you see the end? A winding stairs, the truth is this, you gain maximum height in the shortest amount of time, gaining the maximum height in the shortest amount of time.
One of our architects in our church took me to task actually after I said that in the first sermon of the year, and she's in building architecture. And she made a study of winding stairs and true enough, she found out that you actually reached the top in a shorter time than a straight stairs. Now friend, you can avail yourself of her studies, it's all very technical, on Joseph Prince sermon notes, okay, it's available. And not only that, when you go up the winding stairs, you don't see the end. Just like this COVID-19 situation right now, you can't see the end of it, and God doesn't want you to see the end of it.
Let's stop asking, how did this virus come about? There are all kinds of opinions. It's God's judgment, it's Satan's attack. Maybe it's both, you know, but let's not worry. Is it from China? Is it from a biochemical plant? Is it from the bat? Is it from the rat? Is it from Gotham City? No, doesn't matter anymore, amen? And let's not worry about the ending as well because Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, live one day at a time. Live one day at a time. The provision that God gives you, the grace of God, and this is his wisdom, is only one day at a time. The manna fell in the wilderness for the turn of Israel one day at a time. They cannot store today's manna for tomorrow because it will stink.
Every day God gives you fresh manna. There is no grace to see the ending of it today, amen. There's only grace to take one step at a time around the winding stairs. You can't see the end, but you're going higher, my friend, you're going higher and higher. You're going higher and higher to a wider place, to a wider space, amen. You're having more reach, amen, than ever before. You're going around and before you know it, you are there in a higher place. Like I said, God's way is always to ascend, amen, to ascend higher. Praise God. Oh, I'm getting excited, amen. Praise the name of Jesus, amen.
So, second floor, this is second floor, six cubits broad. The second floor is a place where the priests would rest. This is where they sleep. This is where they lay aside all their labor and rest. Notice it's in a higher floor. It's a place of rest. I believe that God is bringing us all to a place of rest. I can see that even for the world, workaholics have no choice but to be in their homes, amen. And but let me talk to the body of Christ, amen, God wanting us to rest that sometimes it's necessary. You know God says this, if you don't let the land rest every seventh year, God told, Israel, okay, the time will come, you will go into captivity out of Israel and the land would rest. And that happened to them.
One of the reasons why Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came and took them captive is given to us in the last chapter of Chronicles where it says that to fulfill the word of Jeremiah where God says, "For every year the land didn't rest, I will let it rest in the 70 years of your captivity". So, God wants us rest or else we'll rest in another environment, in a place where they all wear white, you know? And at the foot of your bed, it will say, "rest R-I-B-C", rest in bed completely. You have to make up for loss rest, lost Shabbat, Sabbaths. And I don't mean just a physical rest, I'm mean spiritual rest, my friend, spiritual rest, hallelujah, seated in Christ in heavenly places, amen? I believe we are coming to that place.
Let me show you this verse. In Mark 14, Jesus said to his disciples, he's about to celebrate Passover. We just celebrated Passover, didn't we? Amen, this year. For us, Christ is our Passover, amen? A few days ago, Jews everywhere observed the Passover like they did in the first Passover, then there's never been a Passover, right? In recent times or even in history where it was almost like exactly like the first Passover. But there is a prophecy among the Jewish sages, and the rabbis know it. It's from the Talmud where it says, "Before the Messiah comes again, the first Passover will be repeated just before, prior to the coming of the Messiah", okay? We saw that happen a few days ago where Jews everywhere, you know, you don't find the young people, or some of them who are secular, going out there in the cinemas. Everyone is hunkered down. Everyone has to observe the Passover with their families, amen?
So notice this, that during this time, the Passover, in Mark 14, Jesus said, "Go ahead". He sent two men to go ahead, and then he said, "A man will be found with a pitcher". Now, in those days, usually a lady will carry a pitcher of water. So when you see a man carrying a pitcher of water, it's a unique thing, a very unique sight. "Follow that man". Who is he? A picture of the Holy Spirit, and he has a pitcher of living waters. He's carrying a vessel of living waters for you and your family. "Follow him. Follow him and wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples"?' Then he will show you a large, upper room, furnished and prepared. A large, upper room, furnished and prepared. Furnished and prepared. Then make ready for us".
Friend, this is the second story of a Jewish home, usually a wealthy person, okay? When Jesus says, "I am bringing you and your families", and the is a prophetic word, "I'm bringing you and your families to a large, upper room, ready, made ready, prepared, furnished, completely furnished", the Greek word there is actually "prepared-ready". One word, "prepared-ready", all right? Takes two words to explain one word in the Greek, "prepared-ready". Furnished. Like God promised Israel, "I bring you", we have a picture of this in the Old Testament, "I bring you to a land where you will eat from vineyards you did not plant. You will drink water from wells you did not dig, and you will live in houses you did not build". What is that saying? That is saying that you'll enjoy rest through the work of another.
Today we enjoy rest through the work of another, amen? And we are risen with him at the Father's right hand, hallelujah, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. And I believe that, right now, we are ascending to the next level where everything is prepared for us. That's why the picture there is the place of rest. That room is a place of rest because everything that you need has been prepared for you, ready for you, and you need to have the eye of faith to know that it's supplied, amen. Don't worry about your job. Don't worry about finances. It's made ready for you. It's furnished already.
"But where is it, Pastor Prince"? Friend, "We live by faith, and not by sight". Don't forget, sight is temporal. You have money in your hand. You know what? That is insecure. That is temporal, but God will supply you according to his riches, not according to the riches of a nation's wealth, not according to the riches of what is happening in the world's market, but according to his riches in glory. "My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus". It's time for us to live in the supernatural, my friend, amen? God is taking his people out of the natural where they have to trust the supernatural for supply, and it's forthcoming. And what is God saying to you? "Sit down, and I'll provide for you".
I just finished teaching the church a few weeks ago on how Jesus made them all sit down before he multiplied the loaves and fishes. He says to them, and the Bible says he made them sit down on green grass in groups, multiples of fifties, of fives, and the Bible says he fed them. Notice position, being seated, before provision. Just like in Psalms 91. Sit down first. Position before protection, amen? I'm sure that the people sitting down there, when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish, were reminded when they sat on the green grass of Psalms 23. That's the Lord of Psalms 23, "The Lord is my shepherd". Remember that phrase? "He makes me lie down", and "lie down", "recline".
The word "sit", by the way, in many places in the New Testament, is the Jewish custom of that day. When they sit, they recline. It's a posture of rest, recline. Make them sit down before the supply. Position before provision. Are you seated, my friend? Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, what you shall drink, but live one day at a time for the peace of your mind. Don't look at the end: "What's gonna happen"? "What's gonna happen"? "What if"? "What if"? "What if"? No, go up the stairs one step at a time. Be obedient. Show them Galatians chapter 5. Be obedient. It says, "If we live, since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit".
Let us keep in step, one step, as the Spirit of God shows you one step at a time, one step at a time, one step at a time. You don't know that you are ascending. You don't know that you're going to a larger place, but you are, my friend. You are. Even during this COVID-19 virus, it seems like the more inward we go, the more outgoing we have, the more outreach we have. It's strange. It's strange. Every pastor is preaching by faith. Here I am with a camera person, one person behind the camera, and I'm preaching by faith, amen? Amen. But that's how you should be. Our security is never in the people. It's in the Lord Jesus, amen. The message is the same, and God wants us all to learn to live by faith. He wants us to live in the supernatural and not to rely on our senses and our sight, amen, friend? Praise the name of Jesus. So he's bringing us to the next level, amen?
And next week I'll be sharing on the uppermost chamber which is very exciting. It's a place where they store the gold and silver. Show them the chamber, uppermost chamber. That's where the tithes and the gold and the silver, the treasures are stored in the uppermost chamber. That tells me, like, God opened up the first chamber, friend. He opened up the first part of the year. Who'd have thought that we would enter into a season of the whole world in a crisis against this plague? But then he opens up the grain, the wine, and the oil, and I've taught the church on the oil as well, even the anointing oil, and how it plays a part during this time, amen? The grain, the wine, and the oil is the answer to the COVID-19 virus, amen.
There is a truth that, you know, anything from the north, in Israel, they consider it as an evil thing. Most of the time, the enemies of Israel will come from the north, amen, like the Assyrians. The Assyrians, the Babylonians, okay, they'll come from the north, and the north wind is always a wind that brings blight, you know. It comes at the wrong time. It can destroy their harvest. So north is always a picture of something that is adversity, amen? According to Zechariah chapter 6, the Pale Horse, the horse that brings famine, that brings death, that horse is mentioned in Revelation chapter 6, as well, as the Pale Horse, but in Zechariah, it's a greenish horse, pale greenish horse, and the rider brings the same thing, plague, death.
Notice where it comes from. It comes from the north. But if you at the tabernacle... let's look at the tabernacle of Moses at this time. If you look at the tabernacle, the showbread is facing north. Can you see it? The showbread is facing north, okay? When you enter, you enter by the east, and the holy place, the menorah is at the south. By the way, the south wing is always something pleasant, something good, warm, amen? Balmy. But the north, the table of showbread, facing the north, there's a table of showbread that faces the north, and the table of showbread is a picture of, again, communion. When you are in adversity, partake of the Lord's Supper, amen?
This was a posture John was in, in the book of Revelation, John, the beloved disciple, amen? This was the position he was in. How do I know that? Because the Bible says he heard a voice behind him, and he turned around, and he saw the seven menorahs. So if the menorah is behind him, what was he doing? I believe he was partaking of the Lord's Supper. Just a personal revelation, I think. You can take it or not, but it's exciting, amen? So, friend, God wants you in a place of rest. Rest and see God do all the rest for you. All your enemies, no matter what they are, God will cause one by one to come right under your feet, amen? "Under your feet" means you have the victory over them. It's not you doing it. The battle is the Lord's. Look to him. Trust him.
I feel like, right now, there are people experiencing all kinds of healings already. There is a man. You have a pain that gives you a lot of problem on getting up, all right, from the bed in the morning or from the sofa. I want you to stand up right now in Jesus's name. Your pain is somewhere here near your lower back. Stand up right now in Jesus's name. You'll find yourself healed. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Lord Jesus, amen.
There is a man. I think you fractured your wrist, and right now, if you can just move that wrist and see what the Lord is doing, I know that, if a fracture, I mean, God is speaking. Something is happening right now, and you're feeling warmth in that area, in Jesus's name. Receive that healing right now. Praise the Lord.
Glaucoma is being healed in Jesus's name, amen.
There is a man experiencing, and you have been diagnosed already. The doctor have given you medicine for your heart. You have a blocked artery but right now, you feel like such a power of strength comes into your body. Friend, you are healed. You are healed in Jesus' name, amen?
See, you don't have to struggle to earn these gifts. You don't have to labor to receive healing. You're probably sitting down at home, amen? Just receive it in Jesus's name. The gifts are paid for by another. They are gifts for us. "Charismatas" means "grace gifts". That means they are grace, "charisma" is grace gift from the word "charis". "Grace" means "unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor". You know how this COVID-19 virus will end? Through unmerited favor. Many of us, we are in the wrong posture. We are trying to earn God's favor to defeat this COVID-19. God is saying, "Rest". Don't worry about where it came from. Don't worry about where it's going. Right now, take one step at a time. Live one day at a time.
"Follow my Spirit one day at a time. Do the next thing my Spirit tells you. You might not know it, but you're going higher. You can't see the end of this crisis, or your personal crisis you're going through, but God is saying: You can't see the end, but I can". You are going by the winding stairs, the way of the stairs. Let me see your countenance. Let me hear your voice, amen. God is still healing people, and a kidney condition being healed, amen. All this, you can verify and go back to the doctor and get the testimony, and please write to us here in New Creation Church, amen. Let us know what God is doing. Even as I say good-bye to you, there are all kinds of healings still happening in Jesus's name. Cancer being healed, hallelujah. God is smiting it in Jesus's name, amen, amen. Somebody is being able to see. Your eye, your eye is opening up. I do not know if you have partial blindness or complete blindness, but you are seeing right now for the first time. A vision is being restored in Jesus's name, amen.
Friend, I'll leave you with this verse, amen? Romans 4, show them Romans 4, "Christ was delivered up because of our offenses, and he was raised up because of our being declared righteous". Friend, let me leave you with this gift: You are declared righteous because, you know why? Christ was delivered at the cross for our sins, our offenses, and he would never have been raised from the dead if God had not declared us righteous. If his work at the cross was not perfect, God would not have raised him from the dead because we'll not have been declared righteous. So the very fact he rose from the dead, the same body that bore our sins at the cross a few days ago, rose from the dead without our sins, and there he is at the Father's right hand. Where are all our sins? Gone, and gone forever. And let's put Isaiah 53, as well, "Surely he has borne our diseases", where? At the cross. But there he is in heaven. Where are all our diseases? At the Father's right hand, where is all our disease? Gone. So are yours right now, in Jesus's name, amen, amen, amen. Praise the Lord, hallelujah.
Next week, we'll continue. Stay tuned, my friend, amen. I'll be sharing on the uppermost chamber and the secrets that God has for us because I believe that the church wouldn't have to worry about their needs being provided because we are going towards the last part of the year. We're gonna step, even right now, we are stepping into it already. We are stepping into the place of the upper chamber where the gold and the silver that God has stored for his people. So in the midst of the world in financial famine, God's people are always supplied. You see that in the Old Testament, and we'll see that next week as well as how we're gonna come to that place, and God is, it's happening prophetically even as I speak, amen? We are sending higher and higher and higher you and your family, amen?
And if you've never received Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, I wanna give you this opportunity right now. If you're watching this, friend, your sins was placed on Christ. He knew no sin. He did no sin. In him is no sin, but he bore your sin in his own body. All your sins was placed on him. He became your substitute, and he died on the cross. As the Scripture says, he was delivered because of your offenses, because of my offenses, and God raised him from the dead without your offenses, amen. That means what Jesus did on your behalf is perfect. God raised him the moment God declared you righteous. So, friend, if you want him to be your personal Savior and Lord, pray this prayer with me right now.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of your Son, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I thank you Christ was delivered for all my offenses. He suffered my judgment at the cross, and I thank you that you raised him from the dead when I was declared righteous, declared righteous forever. Thank you, Father, in your eyes I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Jesus Christ is my Lord. In Jesus's name, amen.
Friend, if you prayed that prayer, please let us know what the Lord has done in your life, praise the Lord, in saving you. And any good, any blessing that you've received during this time, just write in and tell them what the Lord has done in your life. Will you do that, please? Amen, and for the rest of you, let's believe God for a great coming week, amen. We have passed the Passover. Let's be expecting a world that is different from now, amen. And for the believer, you are not going into a smaller place. You're going to a larger place. Pray this prayer right now together with me:
Father, I thank you that your grace comes to me one day at a time. So give me grace now not to worry about my needs for the future. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name, I receive the grace to walk one step at a time, to walk being led by the Spirit, to focus on what you have for me, and I'll not worry about tomorrow. Thank you, Father, in Jesus's name, amen. Friend, this coming week, the Lord bless you, and the Lord keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and grant to you and your families his shalom, peace, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
These are notes on the sermon, Inside-Out Transformation, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 2 May 2021, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Overview
- Introduction: Your testimony glorifies God and encourages others
- We now live by a new law—the law of the Spirit of life—which brings abundant life
- Speak out in faith and experience God’s abundant life
- God sees you as a new creation in Jesus, completely forgiven and righteous
- God’s life-transforming power is released when you truly believe you are righteous in Christ
- No weapon formed against the righteous shall prosper
- The revelation of your righteousness in Christ is first received in your spirit, then impacts your thoughts and emotions
- When your thoughts are occupied with Christ and His righteousness, you will experience life, strength, and transformation in your physical body
- Salvation Prayer
- Closing Prayer
- OWN THE WORD (life application)
Introduction: Your testimony glorifies God and encourages others
Pastor Prince encourages us to continue sharing our testimonies with one another. What God has done for others, He wants to do for you as well. Even as we hear testimonies from others each Sunday, be encouraged because your breakthrough is next!
One of the reasons why we share our testimonies is because it is how we overcome the devil— by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony (Rev. 12:11a). Every time you testify to someone, you are sharing God’s grace with them. No one can reason away your experience.
Reading the many praise reports and testimonies from others builds up our faith with the confident expectation of good for our future.
We now live by a new law—the law of the Spirit of life—which brings abundant life
We are continuing from last week’s sermon, Your Failure Is Not Final.
“Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
— Romans 8:1–2 NASB
“no condemnation at all” — The word “no” is the Greek word “oudeis,” and it describes a scenario where there is no exception. This means that there is no condemnation whatsoever in any shape or form for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The law of sin and death entered when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. God never desired for us to live a life subjected to sickness and disease, growing old, or dying. God’s dream for man is to live in health, strength, youthfulness, and to enjoy all the good that He has in store for them.
The devil has nothing but destruction for man but Jesus came to bring life and life more abundantly (John 10:10b).
“the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” — When Jesus died on the cross, He introduced a new law—the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Here, “the law” is not referring to the Ten Commandments or a rule of conduct made by a government but it is referring to a mode of operation, e.g. the law of physics or the law of gravity. Under the law of gravity, what goes up must come down. Likewise, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus releases God’s abundant, “zóé” life into the life of the believer.
“the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” — When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we came under this new law and so we were freed from the law of sin and death. Similar to how the law of thrust and lift frees a plane from being subjected to the law of gravity, the law of the Spirit of life has freed us from being subjected to the law of sin and death. God gave a greater and higher law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which transcends the law of sin and death. Today, we are no longer subjected to this law but we are subjected to the law of the Spirit of life.
Speak out in faith and experience God’s abundant life
While we have been freed from the law of sin and death through the finished work of Jesus, it does not mean that the law and its effects no longer exists. However, one of the ways we can actively claim this law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is to confess, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and death.”
When you experience a symptom in your body, confess this law over yourself. The spirit of faith speaks. Just as David wrote in Psalm 116:10a (KJV), “I believed, therefore have I spoken.” And Paul who quoted David in 2 Corinthians 4:13 (KJV), said, “We having the same spirit of faith . . . I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.”
Faith is speaking what you have believed.
The Bible tells us that when God saw darkness, He called light into existence and called it good (Gen. 1:3). God didn’t speak about the darkness He saw; He spoke forth what He wanted to see. We, being made in God’s image and having the same spirit of faith as David, believe and therefore speak. This is how we operate in faith in our daily lives.
It is in this manner that we are saved: by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8 KJV). Similarly, how do we appropriate all that Christ has done for us? By faith, and faith operates through believing and speaking (Rom. 10:9–10).
The heart and the mouth are always engaged in the process of faith.
When you feel tired or weak in your body, say this: “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.”
That is your rightful place in Christ, free and above the law of sin and death, in the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
God sees you as a new creation in Jesus, completely forgiven and righteous
It is essential that we are established in this truth: Because of Jesus’ finished work at the cross, God sees us in Christ today, one with Him and ensphered in Him. Today, when God looks at Jesus, He sees you. When God looks at you, He sees His Son, Jesus Christ. God will never see you apart from Christ.
In God’s eyes, whatever has happened to Jesus has happened to you as well. So when Jesus died at the cross, our old self was crucified with Him. When Jesus was raised from the dead, we were raised with Him. When God made Jesus sit at His right hand, we sat down with Him at God’s right hand.
We are now in Christ not by our own efforts and strength, but by God’s doing.
“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:”
— 1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV
Because we are in Christ, He becomes our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
All our sins have been forgiven through Christ’s blood, but because we still have the flesh (the sin principle that makes us inclined to sin) in us, we cannot help but fall into sin. However, even when we fall into sin (the Christian walk is an upward stumbling), we are still forgiven and righteous in Christ.
How can this be so?
Because of Adam’s sin, everyone was born a sinner. Even if a sinner does good deeds, he is still a sinner. But now, Jesus Christ, who is the last Adam, has made us righteous in Him. Our sinful nature has been crucified at the cross with Him and today, we are seated with Him at God’s right hand. Now that we are righteous in Christ, we cannot revert to being sinners even when we fall into sin.
So even when you see the flesh act up (e.g. when you have wayward thoughts or sinful desires), you don’t have to identify yourself with them.
Don’t judge yourself by your behavior; judge yourself by your standing in Christ—you are the righteousness of God in Christ! As you judge yourself by your righteous standing, your behavior will start to line up with this truth and you will find yourself reigning more and more over sin.
God’s life-transforming power is released when you truly believe you are righteous in Christ
The real you is a spirit. You are a spirit made in the image of God, but you live in a body and you have a soul (thoughts and emotions).
While we have a soul and we live in a body, God does not want us to be led by our minds and bodies. That is not to say that we don’t take care about these things, but God wants our spirit man to take precedence over our mind and body.
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
— Romans 8:5–6 ESV
To set the mind on the flesh is death. To set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.
Throughout the Bible, there are instances where the “spirit” can refer to the Holy Spirit or our spirit man. Sometimes, the distinction isn’t as clear because God has made our spirit man and the Holy Spirit one (1 Cor. 6:17 KJV). The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit and that is how God leads us from within and how He wants us to lead our soul and body.
In the spirit, we experience:
- Communion with God:
We have communion with God in the realm of the spirit. We don’t commune with God physically but spiritually. It is in the spirit where we enjoy the most intimate communion with Him. While there are moments where we may feel God’s presence tangibly, we should not depend on them because those feelings can come and go. - Intuition:
The spirit is also where we find intuition. Even when a person is not born again, they still have this function, although it is dormant until it is awakened when they are saved. For those of us who are born again, our intuition is in the form of being led by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit leads us on the wavelength of peace. Before you make an important decision, don’t rush, but take time to listen to what God is saying. If you feel restless about it, take time to pray about it. If you start doing something and there’s no peace, don’t pursue it. There may be instances where what you see and what others are telling you seem to be the right path to take, but if you feel uneasy about it, obey that prompting. Don’t rush to make the decision but take time to seek God about it.
You can also parent by your intuition. Listen to what God is telling you on the inside and let the Holy Spirit lead you to guide and parent your child. - Conscience:
Lastly, our conscience is found in the spirit. It is in our spirit that we first receive the revelation that we have been forgiven and are righteous in Christ, and that gives us a clear conscience.
In the Greek, the word “conscience” is the same word used for “consciousness.”
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.”
— Hebrews 10:1–2 KJV
The sacrifices of the old covenant could atone for sins for a day or a year but it could never fully take away sins (Heb. 10:4 KJV). If your debt has been paid, you should not be conscious of your debt, your conscience should not have debt on it. Likewise, our sin debt has been paid at the cross, and so we should not have sin on our conscience.
“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,”
— Hebrews 10:11–12 NKJV
What the old covenant priests had to do continually and repeatedly, Jesus accomplished in one perfect sacrifice. Jesus has paid for our sins fully and He sat down because the work has been finished. Today, we can have peace in our conscience knowing that our sins have been forgiven.
When we continue to have sin-consciousness in our spirit, we are unwittingly saying that Jesus’ work at the cross was not perfect and finished.
The Holy Spirit in us also bears witness with us that God is not dealing with us based on our sins but based on what Jesus Christ has done for us at the cross (Rom. 8:14–16). Our sins were righteously punished in the body of Jesus Christ so that today, there remains no more punishment for us to bear.
The way to bring peace to our conscience is not by trying to justify ourselves by our good deeds or our attempts at atonement, but it is to look to the cross and remember again what Jesus has accomplished for us through His perfect finished work.
No weapon formed against the righteous shall prosper
The Bible tells us very clearly that the gospel the apostle Paul preached is a gospel that declares the righteousness of God as a gift:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation (‘sótéria’) for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."”
— Romans 1:16–17 NKJV
“the gospel of Christ . . . is the power of God to salvation” — The word “salvation” is the Greek word “sótéria,” which refers not only to salvation from condemnation, but also includes healing, wholeness, and well-being for your entire person. God wants this salvation to happen to you and it is through the gospel that the fullness of this salvation is released.
“it is written, "The just shall live by faith."” — Pastor Prince shares that he used to think this verse was talking about faith as a way of life (for instance, when a person chooses to trust God for their finances and supply, that is living by faith). However, in the Greek, the sentence structure of this verse places a different emphasis that can be seen in the New English Translation:
“For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.””
— Romans 1:17 NET
“The righteous by faith will live.” — The New English Translation places emphasis on “the righteous by faith,” i.e. those who are righteous by faith will live. We see this in the Revised Standard Version as well:
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live."”
— Romans 1:17 RSV
“He who through faith is righteous shall live.” — We have been made righteous not by our actions or deeds, but through the finished work of Christ. If you are the righteousness of God in Christ, you have Jesus’ abundant life in you.
If you believe you are the righteousness of God in Christ, confess it!
Confess that you are the righteousness of God even while the symptoms of sin are present in your mind and body—that is righteousness by faith.
The presence of these symptoms does not discount your righteous standing in Christ. A sinner can perform good deeds but that does not change his identity as a sinner. A righteous man may fail but that does not change his identity as the righteousness of God in Christ.
The gospel is more than just the forgiveness of sins but it is also about the righteousness of God revealed. You can be forgiven of your sins but never realize that you have been made righteous by God.
“All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
And great shall be the peace (‘shalom’) of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.”
— Isaiah 54:13–14 NKJV
“great shall be the peace” — This peace is God’s “shalom” peace, which includes completeness, health, good success, safety, and one’s total well-being. It affects our spirit, soul, and body.
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,"
Says the Lord.”
— Isaiah 54:17 NKJV
God has promised that no weapon formed against you shall prosper—not just in the past or present, but also in the future. This promise is not dependent on our obedience or our own self-righteousness but it is dependent on Jesus and His righteousness.
The reason why no weapon formed against us can prosper is found in the second part of the verse: “ . . . This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me.’ says the Lord.”
When you know that your righteousness is from the Lord, no weapon formed against you will prosper!
Whatever the weapon or challenge may be, know beyond any doubt that this is God’s promise to you—no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Not because your behavior is perfect, but because of Christ’s finished work at the cross, your righteous standing in Him is perfect.
The revelation of your righteousness in Christ is first received in your spirit, then impacts your thoughts and emotions
“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
— Acts 13:38–39 NKJV
The power of the gospel that Paul preached is found in the forgiveness of sins for “everyone who believes.” We see this more clearly in the Young’s Literal Translation:
“and from all things from which ye were not able in the law of Moses to be declared righteous, in this one [Jesus] every one who is believing is declared righteous;”
— Acts 13:39 YLT
This gift of righteousness has already been given to you. Your only part to play today is to simply believe. The old covenant was based on justification by works (keeping the law of Moses—The Ten Commandments) but the new covenant is based on justification by faith (believing that Jesus Christ has received all the punishment for our sins and today, we are righteous in Him).
“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
— Romans 8:9–11 NKJV
The born-again believer is no longer in the flesh but he is in the spirit. The born-again man is created by God in Christ (Eph. 4:24). We are righteous in God’s sight, not by our work, but by the blood of Jesus Christ. Our righteousness is founded on the incorruptible truth of the finished work of Christ.
Pastor Prince shares a testimony from a sister in Texas, United States, who experienced a 180-degree life transformation (she was delivered from drugs and alcohol, and experienced restoration in her relationships) when she became conscious of God’s love for her instead of her sins.
When your thoughts are occupied with Christ and His righteousness, you will experience life, strength, and transformation in your physical body
“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
— Romans 8:10–11 NKJV
“body is dead because of sin” — Death can manifest as thoughts of depression in your soul and it can also manifest as sickness or disease in your body.
“the Spirit is life because of righteousness” — This righteousness is not something that you do, it is who you are when you accept Jesus as your Savior.
How do we get this life to touch our minds and physical bodies?
“give life to your mortal bodies” — The Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives in you. That same Spirit quickens and gives life to your mortal body. This is not referring to the rapture where we will receive our glorified bodies (Phil. 3:21a ESV), but this is referring to the life that is present in our mortal bodies right now.
Today, what dwells in our spirit is righteousness and life.
Life is a result of righteousness.
The Spirit is life because of righteousness. It has to do with righteousness. For that life to permeate our soul and bodies—which results in health, healing, and wholeness—it all begins with our spirit. It all begins with being conscious of who you are in your spirit, that is, the righteousness of God in Christ.
The more conscious you are of your righteousness in Christ, the more God’s “zóé” life flows into your mortal body. Once His “zóé” life touches that depression or anxiety in our souls, or that disease in our bodies, that’s the end of them. Where His life is, there can be no death.
But how do we receive that boost of resurrection life from the Holy Spirit?
“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
— Romans 8:6 ESV
“to set the mind” — The mind is part of your soul. In your soul, you decide whether you want to focus (mind) on the spirit (who you are) or the body (what you are experiencing). Get your mind to focus on who you are and what you have in the spirit—listen to teachings that expound on that truth. Renew your mind with who you really are in the spirit.
When you set your mind on the spirit (your righteousness in Christ), it is going to affect your soul (your emotions, thoughts, and will). The life-transforming power and peace in the spirit can touch your emotions and then flood your body with healing and wholeness.
You are already righteous in God’s eyes, whether you feel it or not. When you allow that righteousness-consciousness that starts in your spirit to take root in your soul (e.g. by meditating on it), it will eventually impact your body.
As the righteousness of God in Christ, you should feel righteous.
How do you feel that righteousness-consciousness? Pastor Prince shares that for him personally, it is like a sense of newness, a sense of being in close company with God, where there’s no fear of the future. It is a sense of assurance that when you pray, God hears you. He encourages all of us to experience that for ourselves.
Pastor Prince shares a testimony of a powerful life transformation from a sister who was caught in a vicious cycle of sin, guilt, and condemnation. Despite years of self-effort, it was only through the confession of her righteousness in Christ—not of her sin—that she was finally able to break the cycle of sin, and be set free from a constant state of guilt and condemnation.
One of the devices of the enemy is to heap guilt and condemnation on you. The last thing he wants you to say and believe is that you are the righteousness of God in Christ.
What are you confessing today?
Is it a confession of sin? Today, because of the finished work of Christ, we do not hold fast to a confession of sin but we hold fast the confession of our hope, a confident expectation of good to come because of all that Jesus, our great High Priest, has done for us (Heb. 10:23a, Heb 4:14).
True confession is to align what you are saying with what God says about you today.
Keep on confessing it until you experience it even in your thoughts and emotions.
“May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:23 RSV
“may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless” — When you receive His righteousness that gives you a peaceful conscience, when you confess it and believe it, you will see all parts of your being transformed—your soul (thoughts and emotions) and your body.
Pastor Prince prays for people with the following conditions:
- Someone who has pulled a nerve in his/her neck and is unable to sleep at night due to the pain
- Pain in the chest and shortness of breath
- Constant pain in the lower back that affects the leg as well
- Pulmonary valve
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- A young person who has been diagnosed with lupus
Say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ and I receive my healing, full and free, from my Savior.”
One of the ways to renew your mind is to keep on hearing the good news. Keep listening to sermons that remind you that your righteousness is a gift and that you are righteous apart from your works. The more righteousness-conscious you are, the more life from the Spirit touches and quickens your soul and body!
Salvation Prayer
“Lord Jesus, I thank You that You died on the cross for my sins. I thank You that when I was declared righteous by God, God raised You from the dead. I thank You, Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior, now and forever. Father God, I thank You, You have made me the righteousness of God in Christ. Thank You that all the blessings of the righteous are now mine. Thank You, Father God, that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed me from every sin. Thank You, Father, I'm a new creation, I'm born again and born righteous. Thank You, Father, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Closing Prayer
“This coming week, the Lord bless you and your families richly, plentifully, abundantly, because it is the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich and not your efforts, not your labor. The Lord make His face to shine on you and upon your loved ones, and be favorable to you. Open doors of favor throughout this week to you and your loved ones.
May you find yourself by the grace of God at the right place at the right time, always. The Lord lift up His countenance on you and your families, and grant to you and your loved ones His wonderful shalom peace, wholeness, and wellbeing, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And all the people say, Amen.”
Own The Word (life application)
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live."”
— Romans 1:17 RSV
The gospel declares the righteousness of God as a gift—and we have received this wonderful gift by faith. Today, God wants you to know that “righteousness by faith” is not just a nice thought, but it is a powerful truth that brings His life-transforming power into every area of our lives—our spirit, soul (thoughts and emotions), and body.
Maybe today, you find yourself struggling in your thoughts and emotions. Are you overwhelmed by depressive thoughts and feelings? Are you overcome by waves of anxiety about the future? Maybe you’ve been replaying past mistakes in your mind over and over again, and you find yourself unable to move on in life. Maybe you’ve been harboring negative emotions in your heart toward yourself or others, and you know this hinders you from living with joy and hope.
Or perhaps you’re facing a challenge in your body. It could be a chronic health condition or a pain you’ve been experiencing in recent days. It could be a sudden bad report from the doctor or an undiagnosable condition medical experts cannot understand. It could also be an addiction or habit you can’t seem to kick.
Friend, the revelation of your righteousness in Christ will bring life into all these areas where you’re seeing death.
This coming week, meditate often on the truth that you are righteous in Christ. When you declare that you are the righteousness of God in Christ even while the symptoms of sin and death are present in your mind and body, you are practicing righteousness by faith. Meditate on this truth, mutter it under your breath, and speak it forth until you believe it in your mind and feel it deep down in your heart! Say, “Thank You, Lord, that I am the righteousness of God in Christ. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and death. I receive your zóé life in my thoughts and emotions and in my body!”
As the truth of your righteous standing in Christ becomes more and more real to you, you will begin to experience the life-transforming power of God touching your soul and body, making them whole (Rom. 8:10–11, 1 Thess. 5:23).
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