Joseph Prince - Speak Life Not Death
Welcome to New Creation Church. Once again, we are getting closer and closer to the day the Lord comes for us, and why are we looking forward to that? Because the Bible says he's gonna "transform our lowly bodies like unto his glorious body," and I can't wait for that day. Anytime, anytime the Rapture can happen. You see, the coming of the Lord is divided into two parts. There is another coming of the Lord physically for Israel, and that's at the end of the seven years of Tribulation, but before that, there's gonna be the Rapture, and the Rapture will commence the seven years. So we are looking forward to the Rapture that can happen anytime. And at any time, the Lord can just shout for us, and then, immediately, the Bible says, "with the voice of an archangel, with the last trump, our bodies will be transformed". This corruption will put on incorruption.
The Bible says our bodies be transformed like his body. His body can transcend walls and matter. He can appear and disappear, and, yet it's a body you can touch and feel as he told the disciples after he rose from the dead, "Handle me. A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see me have". So, praise the Lord, our bodies will be like his body, forever strong, forever young, forever healthy, praise the Lord. Have you noticed that there are all the heavenly beings that we see in the Bible, especially the ones that are mentioned in the New Testament, like the angel that appeared at the Lord's tomb after he rose from the dead? Mary or the disciples would come, and they'll find a young man seated in the tomb, a young man who's an angel, so even angels. It might have been Michael the archangel or Gabriel the archangel. I'm sure that such occasions will warrant the highest archangels, but he looks like a young man, and all the heavenly beings are young people, amen. Praise the Lord. "Young angels," I should say. So, praise the Lord. We'll forever young, forever strong, forever healthy.
The Bible says that our bodies will be like this: "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption". I think about all the loved ones that have gone on before. I think of my father, and I think of the other loved ones that have gone on before. Maybe you have a loved one that have gone on before, and the way they went was like you see them in pain, you see them suffering, you see them in their body that is like, just, you know, skin and bones, and it's a sad view to see them leave the world like that and their last breath, but the Bible says what is sown in corruption will be raised in incorruption. What a day to behold. The Bible says those who are dead in Christ, they'll receive their bodies first, and then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, hallelujah. Praise the Lord. And it can happen anytime.
So our posture, our Christian position is always to look for the coming of his Son from heaven, not to look to the grave. So there is a generation that will not see death. There is a generation. Remember also that the Bible says that, before the flood came, there was a man called Enoch. "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him". So you see that the Rapture already happened even way back there, during Noah's time, or just prior to Noah, it was Enoch, and "Enoch, actually, was translated that he shall not see death," the Bible says, and before his translation, in Hebrews 11, it says that "Enoch pleased God". But "Without faith it's impossible to please God". So he walked with God, having faith in God. You know, God loves faith and above everything else. You know, when God looks at a crowd, God zeroes in. He's attracted by faith. Faith stopped Jesus in his tracks.
That woman with the issue of blood, when she came behind the Lord and touched his garment, there was a crowd pressing on Jesus. Everywhere he went, it would be like the kind of crowd just following him, touching him, and some would touch him out of superstition. Some would touch him out of what they heard, but those who have faith, that faith touch, and like this woman did, she says that "If I'll touch his clothes, I shall be made whole," and when she touched the hem of his garment, she was completely healed, and Jesus stopped in his tracks. You see, faith always gets God's attention. So, when you have faith, "Without faith it's impossible to please God". You can do a lot of good stuff, a lot of good things, moral stuff, even, okay? You can even give money to the poor and all that, but your motive and your intent and all that is not fully there as giving out of faith, amen, faith in God, knowing, knowing that the Lord is gonna bless you, praise God. And that's the kind of faith that pleases God.
It goes on to say, "Without faith it's impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that he exists, he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him". So the Bible says the faith that pleases God is a faith that believes that God is a rewarder, and, yet we are told not to expect anything when we come to God: "Don't expect a reward," "Don't expect any good stuff because your motive is bad," but actually the motive that God is looking for is a person who looks to him to bless them, amen, in whatever they do, looks to him to even reward them, and there are rewards in the body of Christ, amen? In this Christian life God gives rewards to believers when they apply the grace that God gives them, so I always say, you know, it's amazing that God gives you the grace, all right, for you to operate in whatever role, whatever ministry, whatever task that's ahead. God gives you the grace for it, but when you use the grace, and you're faithful in it, God rewards you for using the grace that he first gave you, hallelujah. Isn't it wonderful? Amen!
So there are blessings that come, praise the Lord, just by the sheer fact that we are in Christ, and there are blessings that come because God rewards you for using the grace or for using the gift that he gave you. Praise the Lord. To God be all the glory, amen. We've been doing a series on life versus death, and that's why we're talking about "So much the more as you see the day approaching," we're looking forward to the Rapture, but until then, right now, is there anything that we can apply, we can learn from, that we can walk in that will cause us to be alive and remain while waiting for that glorious day when the Lord comes for us? Is there anything? Yes, the Bible says the last enemy to be put under our feet, or Jesus's feet, because we're the body of Christ, I'm just referring to our feet, and the last enemy will be death, physical death. So the Bible says that all the enemies must have passed. Until then, been all defeated or put under Jesus's feet.
So we know that Jesus paid for us to have the victory at the cross, but in terms of redemption by power in actuality, all right, the last enemy that we put under his feet is physical death, and that will happen at the Rapture, so we're looking forward to that. So if that's the last enemy, that means disease, sickness, and every other enemy of God, and, you know, whatever is enemy of God is our enemies as well. Those things would have been put under Jesus's feet already, plus, this COVID-19, it will have been put under his feet. So we know that, as the Lord's coming draws near, and we know he's drawing near, we know that the days of COVID-19 are numbered, hallelujah, and we're gonna see more and more victories in the days ahead, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Aren't you excited? Amen!
Now look at this Scripture verse in Proverbs 12: "In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death". Wow, look at that again. "In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death". So I really see, like, the enemy is, even through this COVID-19 and all that, he's trying to destroy especially the body of Christ. People, individuals in the body of Christ, he's trying to stop them. He's tried with all means, not just COVID-19, with every other means, trying to stop them from being alive because, as long as you are alive on earth, you are of influence. You'll be of impact to the people around you. You will share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ, amen, get them saved, amen.
You can be an instrument of God's healing to them. If they are sick, you can actually be used by God as long as you are alive on earth, so don't pray that God will take you back. You know, some people say, "I want to go back to be with the Lord," and all that, because, in a way, in a sense, that is a cop-out. If you leave earth, all right, God cannot use you anymore. In heaven, he has angels he can use, amen? But if you are dead and you're in heaven, God can't use you here on earth, and this is where the lost souls are. This is where we want to be of service to the king, amen, praise the Lord, especially now in Singapore.
I remember my youth pastor, Pastor Daniel, telling me a few months ago, saying that he received report that mental health challenges are on the increase among the youths in Singapore, but I think it's not just in Singapore. I believe it's all over the world as well, and for some reason, there has been a fresh attack, a fresh onslaught of the enemy against the youths of today as well. Why? Because he's afraid of the Benjamin generation that God is raising in these last days, of which you're a part of, hallelujah, amen, and the rest of us who are of a certain age, hey, we are forever young, amen, in Christ, for God renews our youth like the eagle, so we are all part of the Benjamin generation, and we have to pray for the young people of Singapore as well as the young people all over the world.
I remember, last year, our youth outreach, you know, we call it ZONE X. What happened was that, in the very last slot on the last day, I pop up to share some things that God has put on my heart, and as I shared, I received a word of knowledge that someone is watching, and a young man is watching, and he actually left his device on to hear the message, and he actually told the Lord this. He challenged the Lord. He's about to take his life, and he was standing near the parapet of the building, and he left it on, and he says, "God, if you wanna stop me, I'm giving you a chance. This is the last chance. Please stop me now," because, you know, he was struggling with these mental health issues, and he told the Lord, "Please stop me if you have anything for me". You know what God did? At the same time, I was on in that last slot, and I gave that word of knowledge, and I said that "Someone is contemplating suicide, and, in fact, you told the Lord, 'I'm giving you one last chance, Lord, to touch me. This is real. If you are real, if you are'", and you know what? He turned around. He was shocked. He was overwhelmed by the love of God, and he got saved, hallelujah. He reached out to one of our leaders by phone, and he shared his story.
And, you see, there are many people like that all over the world, young people that are having mental challenges and all that, and sometimes, you know, being sensitive to the Holy Spirit will help us to be at the right place at the right time ministering to them just at the right time. Praise the Lord. And God wants to use you, amen, to reach out to his young generation. They are lost, and even though with all that they have, the abundance of all the social means of outreach and all that, they are never more lonely. You know, it's amazing we are supposed to, we have Facebook. We are supposed to make friends and friends following us, and then we have social media and Instagram and others, but, yet we are exposed to so many people, and, yet we've never been more lonely. And sometimes looking at all the touch-ups that they have done and all the different, you know, your best self being presented and all this social media causes us to have a feeling of despair, depression, because it's not the real world that they are living in, and, friends, sometimes it's just good just to leave all these things aside and spend time with the Lord. Get into the Word and get God's vision for you, amen?
So we've been sharing that God has given us the gift of righteousness, and this is a gift, friend. In the Old Testament, you have to obey the commandments to become righteous before God, but the Bible says God knew that no one can keep his commandments. Ever since Adam's sin, all right, sin is in the human blood, and you cannot escape. Even the good things that you do, you do it the wrong intent with evil thoughts, all right? So sin is in man, but the very attempt to try to keep the commandments is an attempt that's saying that "I can do it," and God gave us the law to expose us. It's like the mirror. There's nothing wrong with the mirror, but the mirror says, "ugly," hey, don't blame the mirror, amen? It's just inflexibly true, amen. You can break the mirror, but it's not the mirror's fault.
So the law is holy. The law is righteous, but the reason for which God gave the law is to expose our sin, to show us our sin, not to give us the gift of righteousness. The law cannot do that. So when the law has served its part, just like old Simeon, he's a type of the law because all the law is summarized in the great Shema, in the Hebrew, I mean, among the Jewish people, they pray the Shema every day, and the Shema is the sum total of the greatest commandment, all right, which is "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength". It starts with "Shema Yisrael". Shema. The name Simeon comes from Shema, so Simeon came to the baby Jesus in the temple, and God promised Simeon just like our generation, that "You will not see death, Simeon, until you see Yeshua".
In other words, this man is an old man now, and God kept him alive and that generation, he was "those who are alive and remain" through the first coming of the Lord, and Simeon was one of them, and Simeon says that the Lord... you know, the Word of God says that the Lord has promised him he will not see death until he see the Lord's Yeshua. So that baby Yeshua was there, and he looked at the baby Yeshua, and he blessed the father and the mother. Notice, he didn't bless the baby because, you know why? The baby blesses him. "The less is blessed of the better". The baby is the better. But he blessed the parents, and he told the parents, he gave a word of prophecy to the parents. You know what he said to the Lord? "Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace. For my eyes have seen Your Yeshua". Hallelujah. Even the law, so he represents the law. His name represents the law.
So even the law is happy to see the Lord Jesus come, and the law is saying, "Now let me depart," amen, because there is a righteousness now that's given to man. The law is not happy to condemn men all the time because, when you don't measure up, there's a curse. You don't measure up, you're condemned. You don't measure up, you die. You know, the law is not happy with that, amen? The law was glad to see the Savior come, hallelujah, and the law says, "Let me now depart in peace". And who came after that? After Simeon departed, who came? Hannah. And what does her name mean? "Hanna" means "grace," hallelujah. And what did grace do? Grace says to everyone around, notice the law is not an evangelist. The law never says, "evangelize" under the law, amen? But under grace, grace is a great evangelist, hallelujah, and grace said to everyone in Jerusalem, "Come, come, see this baby," and to everyone who looks for redemption, she was pointing them to Jesus, baby Jesus, hallelujah. That's Hannah's role.
So we believe that, in the end times, and God, you know, God moves in parallel truths but always from the lesser to the greater. We find that, in the first coming, the Lord revealed his coming to the shepherds, so the Second Coming, God's gonna, sort of, like, let all the shepherds sense his coming. The shepherds are the one that he will reveal it too. And then there's a generation, there's a life that remain like Simeon. So, Second Coming, amen, in the Rapture, those who are alive and remain are like Simeon. They will see the Lord's face, hallelujah. You know, the promise of Psalms 91, verse 16, the very last verse, it says, "With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation".
Now, if you pray for long life, by the way, God says, "With long life, I will satisfy him," so, obviously, it's a blessing. Long life is a blessing from God, or else, he wouldn't say, "With long life will I satisfy him," amen? It's like God says, "I'm gonna reward him. I'm gonna give him long life". But why do you want to live long? Well, according to the verse, God's desire for you is this: You wanna live long because you wanna see more of Jesus. Just like Simeon, you know, the Lord promised him he would not see death till he see Yeshua, till he see Jesus. And here, the last word of Psalms 91, is "Yeshua". With long life will that satisfy him and show him My salvation. The word "salvation" in the Hebrew there is Yeshua. Yeshua's name summarized all the blessings and promises of Psalms 91, hallelujah.
So we're gonna live long because we wanna see more of Jesus. Why? Because the more of Jesus we see, the more we can share with those around us. Hallelujah. In heaven, we'll see him face to face already. It is down here that we need to see him in order for us to be a blessing to all those around us, hallelujah. So God will give you long life so that you'll see more and more of Jesus, amen, through his Word, hallelujah. So ever since you are born again, have you seen more and more of Jesus? In fact, the more of Jesus you see, the Bible says in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 2, it says, "Grace and peace," undeserved favor, amen, unearned favor from God, and shalom peace, all right, "shalom" in Hebrew, Greek, Irene, peace, shalom, it's not just mental peace, mental equanimity, mental poise, it's not just that. A shalom is also the all-encompassing word for wholeness in every dimension, in every part of your being, spirit, soul, and body, shalom.
So the Bible says, "Grace and peace will be multiplied to you". How? "In the knowledge of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ". There's only one way for grace and peace to be multiplied to you, amen, in the knowledge or through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so the more of Jesus you know, the more you have undeserved favor abounding in your life. The more you have shalom peace for your mind, shalom wholeness and well-being for your body. It behooves us to see more and more of Jesus and to get to know him more and more, amen? And you can't get to know him just from all this social media and getting involved with other people because they cannot give you only what the Holy Spirit can, so spend time in the Word. Keep on listening to anointed sermons about Jesus. It's all about Jesus, amen?
Now look at Romans 5:17, "For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ". Notice, the contrast here is death reigning and life reigning. Have you noticed that? Of course, the one man's offence is Adam's sin. Ever since Adam sinned, death came in, and so we see that death is foreign, amen, through God's plan. God never meant for man to die. God has no intent for man to die. God counts death an enemy, therefore, God hates death, okay? It's not part of God's plan, but "the wages of sin is death". God warned man, "If you sin, you'll die". So Adam's sin brought death into existence, and death has reigned through Adam's sin. Now, if that is so, "much more those who receive abundance of grace," hallelujah, "abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness", notice this is a gift of righteousness. What's gonna happen to them? "They will reign in life".
Now, many a times, when we think of "reigning in life," we think of "reigning" in life means "reign in this life". My lifetime. That's how we think. But actually the contrast is between death reigning, and here, you're reigning in life, which means, what? "Life is reigning," praise the Lord. And you are reigning in life. You are reigning through that life through Jesus Christ, hallelujah, praise the Lord, but notice the two gifts that you must receive to reign in life: First one is abundance of grace. You must receive abundance of grace. There cannot be too much preaching on grace. Thank God for those preachers who are preaching grace. We need an abundance of grace preaching for us to receive abundance of grace, amen.
A lot of the blessings of God, in fact, even, like, salvation and almost nearly all the blessings of God is received by the Word preached, amen. God has designed in such a way that, you know, it's "by the foolishness of preaching to 'sozo,'" the Greek word, "to save, to heal, to deliver," those who believe, amen. Even healing, you have to go to someone one-on-one, or you preach in a setting, in the group setting, and then they receive the Word, and then they are healed, amen. That's why we always advise people not just to lay hands without sharing the Word about healing with them, sharing about what Jesus did for them, and then you lay hands on them. The Word must be preached, hallelujah.
So, there must be abundance of grace preaching for us to receive abundance of grace. Those who receive abundance of grace in, what? The gift of righteousness. What's gonna happen to them? They will reign in life. So, righteousness today is no more trying to earn it, trying to get it by obeying the Ten Commandments, which is not designed for you to obey. The more you try to obey it, it's designed to bring out your sin, and you will end up the opposite, just like Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai when God first gave the Ten Commandments. Before God gave the Ten Commandments, what did they say? "All the God says to us, all that God can command us, we can do it and we will do it".
Guess what. When God gave the Ten Commandments, the very next thing, they broke the very first one. They made a golden calf and worshipped it. Why? Was it because their intent wasn't right? No, they told God, "All that you tell us, we can do it," but they did not know themselves. And they did not know the purpose of the law. And there are many people today who don't know the purpose of the law. They think that the law was given so that we can keep it. No, the law was given so that it will bringing out your sin. Nothing wrong with the law. Just like the mirror, nothing wrong with the mirror, but it will bring out your ugliness. It's the only device to bring out your ugliness besides if you have a wife that tell you that.
All right, but, you know, friend, let me just say this. We think that by keeping the law, we become holy. We don't realize that the strength of sin is the law. So, the more you try to keep the law, the strength of sin is the law. It's actually strengthening that sin, and we covered that last week. So, nothing wrong with the law. God designed the law to bring out your sin. So, here we go. Praise the Lord. And the gift of righteousness is now ours. Praise the Lord. And we receive abundance of grace, notice receive. How hard is that? Just receive. You don't have to pay for it. You don't have to earn it. You just receive the abundance of grace and you receive the gift of righteousness. And the Bible says those who receive these two gifts will reign in life. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Amen.
Now, Jesus said, "I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly". He didn't come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live. You see, the question of morality will take care of itself if you have the right life. The life of a dog will produce dog-like characteristics. The life of a chicken will produce chicken-like characteristics. So, the life of God in you, infused in you, will produce what we call the character of God, the fruit of the Spirit. Hallelujah. So, it's a matter of life, my friend. I know recently, you know, I always read the prodigal son story. And it never occurred to me. You know, you can be reading the same portion of scripture again and again, and unless the Holy Spirit opens your eyes, you don't see things like what I saw recently. And I saw that the father did not say, "My son was once bad, now he's good". He said, "My son was dead and is alive again". Wow.
When I heard that, I saw the priority that, you know, every word has significance because this story is told by Jesus. The boy, even though he was bad out there in riotous living and all that, but that wasn't the thing the father said. He did not say he was once bad, now he's good. But he was once dead, now he's alive again. Hallelujah. Jesus came, my friend, that you might have life, the life of God itself, amen, infused into your very being. And when you're born again, that's what happens. No point just trying to be religious, trying to do your very best if you're not born again. You gotta have that life. Born again means that life is infused into your dead spirit, and you come alive in resurrected life. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah.
See, for the believer, there are actually... let me say like this, if you're born again, amen, life has been infused in you. You actually are a resurrected spirit living in an unresurrected body. The only part of redemption that we'll see happen when Jesus comes again is our bodies will be transformed into an incorruptible body, glorified body. That's the only thing that we're waiting for in the Rapture. When I think about the Rapture, I'm excited. I really feel that if more people will study on the Rapture and the purpose of the Rapture, it seems like that puts a lot of priority on you having that body, amen. He's telling you to look forward, look forward to the coming of the Lord. Look forward, amen. And those who have this hope in them purifies themselves. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah.
Now, friend, when you think about salvation, when you think about the greatest gift, the greatest blessing you can ever receive, it's like what I said just now, your dead spirit comes alive. You're born again. Salvation has taken place, amen. So, in the greatest gift of all, salvation, how do you receive it? The Bible says by grace through faith, by grace through faith. So, we know grace on God's part, amen, unearned, undeserved favor through faith on our part. But even faith itself, what is faith? How do I operate in faith? We all know that every blessing from God, if the greatest blessing of all, salvation comes through faith, how can we not see that every other blessing will come to us by faith?
Faith is the economy of heaven, if I can say it, the divine currency of heaven, amen. We give God faith and God gives us the very things that we need. And that's not to say that we are earning it because faith means by grace on God's part. Faith means there's nothing for me to do. I only have to receive it. But even receiving is so hard for some people, and you all know this. Sometimes you want to give something to a loved one, amen, someone, a relative, or whatever, and they'll fight you. "No, no, no, you shouldn't have done this. You shouldn't spend so much money". It's kind of hard for people to just, you know, enjoy the love and say, "Thank you". And we all have to learn that, amen. We all have to learn to receive with grace. Praise the Lord.
And sometimes we don't want to receive because we want to earn that gift. We want to earn that blessing. And even with the great salvation, there are a lot of people trying to earn righteousness from God. And the Bible says it only come as a gift through what Christ did for us at the cross. Hallelujah. For there at the cross, God made Jesus to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And this righteousness, the Bible says, the way of this righteousness, we read just now, in this way, there is life and in its path, there is no death. As long as you stay in this faith righteousness, as long as you confess it, as long as you believe it, as long as you're conscious of it, amen, not righteousness by works, but righteousness by faith, amen, the new covenant righteousness, as long as you're conscious of that, the Bible says in your path, in your way there is life, and in your path, there is no death. Hallelujah.
There's another secret right there just like what God has revealed to us that righteousness gives life to our soul and to our bodies in Romans 8, amen. Righteousness, you are now righteous in God's eyes. You are no more a sinner, amen. A sinner is your status. That's what you were. I'm not saying there's no sin in you. There is still sin. Until we see Jesus face to face and receive that new body, there is still sin in you. But I'm saying that God doesn't see your identity as a sinner. That is dead and gone, buried forever. Hallelujah. You are now a brand-new person on the inside. You are created in true holiness and righteousness. That's how the Bible says it. You are. You're born again, and when you're born again, you are born righteous. Now, in receiving the greatest gift of all, salvation, we exercise faith.
Now, we're not even conscious many a times when we have faith to believe God because faith is an amazing thing. Sometimes I dread to teach on faith because people tend to make faith into a work when they study it. But faith is very simple. It's very simple. It's actually seeing Jesus, seeing his generosity, seeing his love for you, seeing his grace, and then he turns around and he sees your faith. The Lord said to me many years ago, "When you see Jesus in his grace, he sees you in your faith". And he said that to me when I was studying about the woman with the issue of blood that I allude to just now. You know, she received from behind when she touched Jesus, the hem of his garment. And the Bible says she received healing. And Jesus turned around, and what did Jesus say to her? "Your faith, your faith has made you well". But it's actually Jesus's power, but Jesus gave her the credit. "Your faith made you well".
So friend, she didn't say, "I have faith, I have faith, I have faith". No, she wasn't conscious of her faith. She was conscious of Jesus, amen. The more of Jesus you hear, the more faith you'll have. Praise the Lord. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of Christ. So, her focus was on Jesus, she was Christ occupied. And it was Jesus who turned around and says, "Your faith". So, when you see him in his grace, in his loveliness, in his generosity, amen, because he's always dispensing, that's the nature of grace, amen. You see him in his grace, he sees you in your faith. Hallelujah. Isn't he wonderful?
So, faith is very simple. And the greatest gift of all, salvation, it says in Romans chapter 10, verse 8, "What does it say? 'The word is near you,'" where? "'In your mouth and in your heart.' (that is the word of faith, which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved". Now, "With the heart, one believes unto righteousness". That's how it becomes the righteousness of God in Christ, by believing with the heart. "And with the mouth confession is made unto salvation". Friend, do you see the process of faith here? It's very simple. It is in your mouth and it involves your mouth and your heart. Again, verse 9, your mouth and your heart. Again, verse 10, "With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation".
Now, if with the mouth confession is made unto salvation, the greatest blessing of all, how about healing? With the mouth, you must believe in your heart that you God wants you healed and he has done it with his stripes, by his stripes we are healed. It's not enough just to know that or just to hear that, okay? You need to say it. With the mouth confession is made unto healing. With the mouth confession is made unto protection. With the mouth confession is made unto overcoming that sinful habit in your life, with the mouth. It's not enough to know what God is showing us about that subject or that particular topic that you're studying on. You need to speak out what you have learned from the Lord. Hallelujah. So, faith is simple. Believe in your heart, speak with your mouth.
2 Corinthians 4:13, it says, "We having the same spirit of faith," notice, spirit of faith. Oh, hallelujah. That's the spirit of faith that got God's attention out there in the wilderness when Joshua and Caleb stood up and says, "Let us go up at once and possess the land. And those enemies, they are bread for us". And God loved the spirit. He has another spirit with him. God was so pleased with the spirit of Caleb and Joshua. And the Bible says, "We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak". My friends, how does the spirit of faith operate? I believe, therefore have I spoken. We also believe, and therefore speak, that same spirit of faith that woman with the issue a blood had, amen. Just believe, "If I can touch his clothes, I shall be well". Believe in your heart, speak with your mouth, amen.
One time Jesus was passing by a fig tree, and the Bible says this fig tree gave an appearance like there's an early firstfruit figs, but there was none. So, Jesus came to it, only have leaves. And Jesus cursed the fig tree. Now, he has a purpose for cursing the fig tree. So, he went into the temple. That's when he cleared the temple from the moneychangers and all the corruption that was going on. And then when he came back, Peter calling to remembrance what Jesus says, "Hey, Master, look, the fig tree that you cursed is withered away". Now, that tells us that the moment Jesus cursed it, it still looks green. It was after just spent a number of hours in the temple. When he came back, right, then Peter says, "Look, Lord, the fig tree that you cursed is withered away. It became dry". It's now like, you know, it's all brown and it's dead.
Then Jesus taught them a lesson on faith. Jesus says, "Have the faith of God". Literally in the Greek, it's not have faith in God like in your King James Bible. It's actually have the God kind of faith. Have the faith of God. See, God is a faith God. God did not create by seeing first and then he create. God had to see, then... no, God does not need to see. God spoke and then he saw. God saw darkness and God said, "Light be," and he saw the light and it was good. We are created in the image of God. Faith operates like this, you speak it and you will see it. So, believe what God says in your heart and then speak it with your mouth. You must speak it. Knowing all these things in your heart is not enough. You must speak it out. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.
If you believe that the healing is your portion, it belongs to you and healing has been given to you by Jesus's works at the cross, amen, by his stripes, you are healed, say it. Say it, "By his stripes I am healed. Praise the Lord. I have the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ has perfect recall of every memory that's needed. I have the mind of Christ". Confess it. Don't say, "My mind is getting, you know, I'm getting forgetful. I'm getting old," and all that. No, friend, you gotta be careful with that because Jesus taught them how to have the faith of God by saying this, "Whosoever shall say unto the mountain, Be thou removed". Now, say unto the mountain, is what? Your mouth. "Whosoever shall say unto the mountain, Be thou removed, and be thrown into the sea; and will not doubt," where? "In his heart".
So, we have the mouth and the heart again. It's that simple, believe and speak. There's not doubt in his heart, he will have whatever he says. Hallelujah. He'll have whatever he says. So, believe in your heart and speak it with your mouth. Friend, this is crucial because in Proverbs 18, verse 21, it says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit". Once again, death and life are in the power of the tongue. So, think about it, that God gave man a power that man is not even aware of when he first created him. And God had to bring him to all the animals, and God brought the animals, rather, to him one by one to see what Adam would call them one by one. And whatever Adam called them, that's their name. But you study carefully in the Hebrew, whatever Adam called them, that is their nature. That is their name, which means that's their nature. That's what they became.
So, God was teaching Adam, the power is in your mouth, amen. Because God told man, "Have dominion over the earth". So, imagine there were big dinosaurs in those days, huge mammals and all that. I don't think Adam was controlling them or having dominion over them with a small stick. No, Adam will just speak to them and they obeyed. God made Adam sovereign over all the creatures of the earth, praise the Lord, until man fell. Now, so man ruled by the words of his mouth. So, the Bible says where the word of a king is, there is power. But how are we using our words today? Even now that you're born again, amen, that power is restored so much more. We tend to lean more towards death, and I think it's the devil who has programmed death into the human language. Regardless whether it's Chinese language, whether it's English, you know, we say things like, "Sia, sia," you know, "Die-ah, die-ah". You know, that's how we say things. We'll say that, "that tickles me to death," or "I am dying for that piece of cake".
You know, you think about it, if you're dying for the piece of cake. I was telling Justin, my son, the other day, think about it, you know, as I was teaching him not to say "death" or "dying" words. I said that, "if you're dying for the piece of cake, you can't eat the cake. You are dying, okay"? You should say what? "I'm living". Actually, it makes more sense. I know it doesn't sound right, but it makes more sense. I'm living for the piece of cake. "Oh, Pastor Prince, it's just an expression". That's what the devil wants you to think. He has programmed that into the language that many are speaking more death in their vocabulary more than life. And you know what's happening? They don't realize that they are sabotaging themselves because the Bible says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue".
Have you noticed that the moment Adam sinned, when Adam sinned, okay, he died. Now, it took 930 years for that to take effect. But at that moment, his spirit died. So, he was in the process of dying, okay? But this is what God said to them when they sinned. "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return. To dust you are and dust you shall return". Look at Adam's reaction. The moment God says, "Dust you are and to dust you shall return," the Bible says, "And Adam called his wife's name Eve," Havah in Hebrew, "because she was the mother of all living". God just said, "Dust you are and to dust you shall return". Adam almost, I believe, right after he heard that, he turned to his wife and says, "Your name is life giver, living," amen. Actually the word there is life giver. Your name is life, and not only life, life giver. There's a compounding of words there. And what is interesting is this word "havah," which is if Eve, we say "Eve" in English. In Hebrew it's "havah". Havah comes from the etymology that literally says, "Declare life, proclaim life".
Ooh, Adam knew the sentence of death had been pronounced on both of them, but he loved his wife. He turned to her straightaway and said, "But you'll be the mother of all living. Your name will be Havah. You'll be living, not dying, and you will be imparting and proclaiming life," amen, I believe to all the children, to all the descendants. Hallelujah, Adam learned the secret. That's why it took a long time for him to die physically. 'Cause the devil cannot program that just yet. Adam was still conscious of the power he had. God just trained him just now. I mean, I said just now but, you know, some time before that, how to name all the animals, amen. God taught him, "Whatever you name, that will be the name of the animal and the nature of the animal".
So, Adam realized his powers. He named them one by one, all the species of animals. He realized that the power in his mouth. So when he saw woman, he says, "Whoa, man". You know why? You're taking from man so he saw a woman and said, "Woman. This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh". He realized that whatever he called woman, all right, he called her, that is what she will be. See, you might say, "Well, Pastor Prince, he's just naming her, that's all". But friend, in the Bible, names have significance with God. And if you think about it, God didn't call Eve, Eve. God called both Adam and Eve, Adam. Let me show that to you in Genesis 5:2, "Male and female created he them; and bless them, and called their name Adam". Called both of them, called their name Adam, male and female. "Called their name Adam, in the day when they were created".
So, God called both husband and wife Adam. It was Adam who called his wife living and life giver. Hallelujah. So, both of them learned to put death at bay, even though they were sentenced already and it was gonna happen, okay? And we know, of course, a thousand years with the Lord is like one day and all. They can talk about that. But in essence, what they were doing was that they were practicing speaking life to each other, speaking life over their children, speaking life. And, of course, we know that the death has come in, so they will die one day. And he went on. But I believe there's something to this about the fact that he named her Havah. We come from the etymology "havah," and havah is to proclaim or declare life. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah.
Now, some people might say, "Pastor Prince, you teach on life and living longer. You know, it's like, why do we want to live long, you know? Even the Apostle Paul, you know, if anyone would overcome death, physical death at least while waiting, all right, it will be the Apostle Paul, but he was martyred". My friend, if you study Apostle Paul, I believe Paul found the secret, and he could have lived, overcoming death. Of course, he could live for more than a hundred years, I believe, but he chose to go the way of martyrdom because it was more glorious. You see, Paul is so in love with Jesus, let me just share with you this. Paul did not go until he said this, he said this, "I'm already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith".
Notice, he says that he's ready to go, why? "I have fought the good fight. I have finished, finished the race. I have kept the faith". So, Paul did not leave until his work is done, until he has finished the race, until he has fought the good fight, amen. He says, "I finished the race. I've kept the faith". His work is done and, you know, he has nothing else that he look forward to on earth except for the Lord. And the most glorious way is to go to the chopping block, amen, look at the one that's supposed to be his executioner, and let the glory of the Lord shine out of his face and touch that man even as the man executes him. And straightaway, his spirit is set free and he's with the Lord. You see, don't forget, the Apostle Paul actually has, he speaks in such a way that he has power over death.
Let me show you what he shares in Philippians chapter 1. He says, "I am hard-pressed between the two at one time". This is what he says: "I'm in a dilemma. I got two decisions to make". "Having a desire to depart and be with Christ," that's Paul's wish, Paul's desire is to depart and be with Christ, "which is far better". You see how Paul sees it? "Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith". So, it's like he's saying, "You know, guys, actually my desire is to leave this body and be with Christ, which is far better for me. But to stay in the flesh is more needful for you guys. So you know what? I'm gonna hang around in my flesh for a while".
Now, you can't say that if you don't have power over death. Paul seems to decide when to go, when to leave his body. So, if you use the Apostle Paul, you gotta use everything that he said, and this the Apostle Paul's life. So, I believe that the most glorious way for him to go, and he longed to be with Jesus quickly. He's so full of resurrection life that doesn't go the way of martyrdom, he's probably gonna live more than 100 years. My friend, there is something there for us to find out, something for us to really discover. I want to discover what Paul discovered, that he could decide, "You know, guys, I'm gonna stay in my flesh for a while". I mean, isn't that wonderful dilemma to have, whether to stay in the flesh or depart and be with Christ, which is far better? But Paul says, "I'm gonna stay in the flesh for your sake. You guys still need me around for a while".
That is someone with power, amen, praise the Lord. And I believe God is opening up. There'll be many Pauls who can decide, amen, to go or to stay. Hallelujah. You know, the Bible tells us that the women who received their dead back to life again in Hebrews 11, others were tortured. "What about them, Pastor Prince"? Well, keep on reading. "Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance," not accepting deliverance. And the word "deliverance" there is the word for redemption. It's used ten times in the New Testament for redemption. Every place you look at it, it's redemption, the redemption work of Jesus Christ, amen. And redemption means a release by payment of ransom. That's what Jesus did for us at the cross. So, they did not accept redemption, they did not accept their release that was paid for by Jesus, and they decided, "We want to go the way of martyrdom. We want to be with the Lord".
Now, friend, you cannot say this unless you have a choice, but the Bible says they do not accept deliverance, did not accept redemption. What does that mean? That means they chose. So, I'm not saying, friend, listen carefully, all right? There are people who have died young, there are people who have been martyred down through the years and all that. I'm talking about the end times. Let's study the Word together, because there is a generation that's alive and remain when the Lord comes. That's what I'm saying. Praise the Lord. So, friend, what are you doing with your words? What are you doing with your words? Are you speaking life over yourself? Are you speaking life over your spouse? Are you speaking life over your children? Are you administering health to them? Are you administering healing? Praise the Lord. Are you speaking death all the time over them? You know, criticizing them is also death. Just now I talked about the cursing of the fig tree.
Notice that Jesus didn't go to the fig tree and say, "I cursed you". He didn't say, "I cursed you, fig tree". He says, "No man eat fruit from you hereafter forever". That's all he said. It's a negative statement. "No man eat fruit from you hereafter forever". And sometimes we say to our spouse or our children, "You know, you're forever careless, you are forever untidy, you are", you know, we say something akin to that. "You know, you're forever jumping the gun. You're always critical. You are this". Sometimes you say, "forever". Sometimes you say, "always". "You're always like this, you're always like that". And that is tantamount to a curse because Peter says it's a curse.
So friend, instead of that, let's reverse that and speak blessings, amen? Speak positive words. You know, even speak to a tree, you speak to a plant, if you speak positive words... we have some plants in our house, and Justin is learning to speak blessings over the plants, and he's seeing the plants grow. You can try this experiment, amen; just have a small potted plant and start cursing it, another potted plant, start blessing it every day. See what happens in one month's time, hallelujah. So, you speak words and words have power because that power is from God. And it's supposed to be for life, not for death. You know, the Bible says something about married life like what we see Adam did. The moment he realized that death was pronounced upon his wife as well, he says this: "Your name is now living and as well as life giver, Havah". Now, why? Because he loved his wife. And that's why the Bible says, "Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church".
Now, how did Jesus love the church? "He gave Himself for her" at the cross, why? "That he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word". Now, listen, Jesus loved us like this: "Husband, love your wife, just as Christ loved the church". He gave himself for her at the cross, for what purpose? That he might make her special, set apart, "sanctify her, and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word". Now, at the cross, he saved us, redeemed us by his blood, but then, now that we are saved by the blood, he wants to make us so special, amen, to the end that we'll be without flaw, without blemish, and without wrinkle even. Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself, but he's gonna sanctify you and cleanse you, how? With the washing of water by the Word, not by the blood here, but by the Word.
So, the spoken Word is very important, and the word here is "rhema". "Logos" is the entire totality of God's Word, it's the mind of God, hallelujah. And the logos was made flesh, and that's our Lord Jesus. But there's another word for God's Word, the Word of God in Greek, and it's "rhema". "Rhema" is always the spoken Word, spoken Word. That's rhema. And the Bible says the way Jesus cleansed the church after he redeems her, many believers know about this cleansing. They're not very familiar with the other cleansing by the Word. Friend, there's a cleansing by the Word. And he set us apart that he might cleanse us with the washing of water by the Word. You know how he does it? Just like in the upper room, Jesus says, "I am the true vine, you are the branches". The next two verses, it says this: "Now you are clean through the word which I've spoken unto you". Whoa, just by declaring, "I am the true vine, and you are the branches".
So, when the Lord says to you, "You are now the righteousness of God in Christ," amen, gospel says that it's a cleansing, amen. Notice, all these cleansing words that Jesus talk about is actually affirmative of who he has made you to be. Praise the Lord. "I am the true vine, and you are the branches connected to me. The same life, the same sap that flows in me, flows in you, not a different one, same". Hallelujah. "Now you are clean through the Word which I've spoken unto you," hallelujah. "If any of you bear fruit, I will cleanse you even further, that you will bring forth more fruit". And the Greek word there is the same root word as the "Now you are clean through the word which I've spoken unto you".
So, how does Jesus cleanse us? With his Word. We need to expose ourself to anointed preaching. We need to spend time in the Word, amen, to hear God's Word, and also, you know, listen to that voice of the Spirit on the inside of us, leading us. He cleanses us with his spoken now Word. That's why when I prepare my messages, I always want a now Word. I ask God for the rhema Word. I say, "God, what's your Word? There's a lot of good things to teach from, but what is your rhema word? What is your spoken word for now"? Jesus said in the wilderness, temptation, all right, Jesus says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every rhema," literally, the word there is rhema, "word that proceedeth," and the word there has the present tense, "proceedeth," that is ever proceeding from the mouth of God.
Man doesn't just live by bread and by rice alone, friend. We must live by the ever-proceeding, present tense, rhema Word of God. And watch this: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church". So, we saw how Jesus loves us. What's the reason for washing us? The next verse says, "That He might sanctify and cleanse us the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself, the church to himself," what? "A glorious church". Whoa, amen. Notice, the cleansing of the washing of the water of the Word will cause you to become a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. Know what's the difference? Spot means there is a flaw, there is a blemish. Wrinkle means age, amen. In fact, he's gonna remove every trace of aging from you. And you know what? I know he's referring to the spiritually and all that, but don't forget, "Husbands, love your wife". So, we're gonna apply it to the husband as well, amen. "Without spot, having no spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but as she should be, the church should be holy and without blemish".
Now, let's apply it, because it says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her". So, the moment you say, you know, to that woman that you married, you know, "I give my life to you," or you exchange your vows, actually you're giving yourself, amen, you're giving yourself. Once in a while tell your wife, "It's the best gift you can give, give yourself," amen. Your presence is more important than your presents, amen. Even she gets used to your absence, amen, be around her, amen. Your presence is more important than your gifts, your presents, okay? So, he gave himself for her at the cross. Jesus didn't send an angel. He could have sent an angel to die for us. I mean, the effect will be different, but he gave himself, that's how much he loves us. He gave himself for us, hallelujah, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word. How you apply that to the husband? Well, when you talk to your wife, you must make her feel special. She is a special woman. "She's every woman in the world to me". Amen, praise the Lord.
You don't have to look at any other woman. When you speak to her, she needs to feel special. That's the word "sanctify," set apart, amen. And cleanse her. So, when you speak to her, it's gotta be like a fountain. It's like a bath. Actually the word there, the washing there is a bath. Amen, it's like a bath. Every time talking to you is refreshing. Or is it like she feels inadequate after she talks to you or she hear you talk? I mean, we've all been there, right, we are all not perfect. We are still a work in progress, myself included, amen. You can just ask my wife. But friend, isn't it time for us, I mean, Jesus is coming back soon.
Come on, let's all forget about the petty, petty little, you know, things that we quarrel about. "You said this, I said that, or the way you said this, the way you said that". Let's forget about all that and let's try to live together, amen, and in a way that the Lord designed us, you know, I don't want to say live, just live together, the people who are living together but they're not in love with one another. You know, the Bible teaches us to make love with words, and the Song of Songs is all about making love with your words. It's not just a picture of Jesus and his bride, it's a picture of the bridegroom, amen, and his bride, the man and the woman. Hallelujah, just like "Husbands, love your wives," that's the primary thing, just as Christ loved the church.
So I used the analogy of how Jesus loved the church; now, I'm gonna apply it to the husband. You love your wife like Christ loved the church. How did Christ love the church? Like this... He gave his life. So, you know, does it matter who says sorry first? Does it really matter? Because you are supposed to give your life. "Wah, she will take me for granted and all that". Then let it be. Trust the Lord with that. Hallelujah. But most of the time I'll tell you this: when you do that, amen, things will turn out better than you ever dreamed of. Okay, friend, amen? Give yourself. Give yourself, amen. Your life was consecrated for her, amen. And for her to, now, listen carefully. You love because you enjoy loving. You must not love with an end in mind, which means, "I'm gonna love her for a while and see whether she respond to me like that, whether she will do what I want". No, no, the love that Jesus has is a love that does not look at responses, does not look at a desired end, whether she will perform that end for me or whatever, okay? It is a love that you just enjoy loving.
Even if she doesn't respond the way she's supposed to, you enjoy loving. That's the word "agape". It's a self-sacrificial love. You must find your own enjoyment in that love. You must find your pleasure in just loving. And then your words, you gotta make her feel special and cleansed. That's how your words cleanse her. You make love with her with words. You know what the man in the Song of Songs says to the woman that he loves? "Oh, you are altogether lovely. There is no spot in you". You will say, "That's a lie, bro, that's a lie". No, no, God calls those things that don't exist yet as though they are, the Bible says in Romans 4. God calls those things that don't exist as though they did exist. So, God's way is like, that's how your wife already is. In the Spirit, that's how she already is. She has no flaw. She has no age, amen.
And by the way, when you talk to her, don't make her feel old. In fact, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, the effect of your words must produce that. Having no spot, she don't feel like she's... in your presence, there's no spot, there's no wrinkle. She doesn't feel old or any such thing, but that she be holy and without blemish. Holy is clean and glorious, amen? And at the end, you're gonna see a glorious woman in front of you. And guys, you are responsible just like Adam. He used his words to bless his wife, amen. I know it's a challenge. It's a challenge for me. It's a challenge for all of us, but let's get started, friend. Jesus is coming back, and marriage is the closest thing to heaven on earth. Yeah, I know it can also be the closest thing to hell on earth if it goes wrong. So, all our investment has gotta be in this first, not even your children; they come after, amen. Just tell your kids, "I loved your mom long before there was you". They get the priority. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Amen, man, amen. "Preach it, Pastor Prince. Hallelujah". Praise the Lord.
Okay, I believe that the Lord wants us to really walk in all these truths and to know these truths, but more than that, to confess them, to believe, "Yes, I'm the righteousness of God in Christ". That's why it's so important to declare, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ," especially when you feel dirty, you feel like you came short of something, all right, to confess that. And friend, I want to read to you a testimony in closing that I think will bless you. You need to confess, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ". This is a testimony from a man called Eric from Florida:
I had been addicted to watching pornography for 28 years. Even as a child of God, I struggled with this regularly. In 2007, my wife discovered Joseph Prince Ministries and was deeply touched. At that point, I had completely lost control over my addiction. So, I watch Pastor Prince's sermons every day and would even study the Hebrew and Greek words taught in the messages. Within a year, the Lord's grace became real to me. I began watching pornography less and less till the frequency became only once a year. I remember listening to a CD sermon and Pastor Prince talked about how indulging in pornography makes one's wife become less attractive in one's mind. When I heard this, I fell to the ground weeping. In that moment, I heard the Lord speak to me: 'Every time you watched pornography, I was there, and I love you more than you can imagine.' Knowing I was loved, even in the midst of my addiction, set me free. I have now been set free from pornography for eight years. Today, I mentor others who are currently struggling with pornography addictions in my church. Thank you, Pastor Prince, for all that you do.
Praise the Lord. To God be all the glory, amen. So, confess, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ". There's so many testimonies that came in of men while they're watching, they will confess, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ". You say, "Pastor Prince, that sounds so wrong". They'll still do it. You don't tell them to confess, they will still be watching, okay? So, you know what? Tell them confess, call those things that are not in the present, not yet in the present, as though they exist. "I am the righteous of God in Christ". Actually, you already are, but it's not manifested in the present, amen. But God sees you in the Spirit, so call what is within, all right, until it is manifested without. "I am the righteousness of God in Christ" until it flows through the members of your body, amen, in your mind. You will feel it, amen. That's why I say this. It's not enough just to confess, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ," remember? You must touch your soul until your soul feels it. Confess it until your soul feels it, and then you affect your body. And that's from Romans 8. Praise the Lord.
Have you been blessed? I trust that you have received God's Word, and every time you receive God's Word, something great happens to you. Grace and peace and shalom, well-being is multiplied in your life. Praise the Lord. If you have never made Jesus your personal Savior and Lord, pray this prayer with me, my friend, pray this. Remember, believe in your heart and confess with your mouth Jesus Christ is your Lord, and you'll be saved. Say, "Heavenly Father". Say this after me:
Heavenly Father, I thank you you sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins, and I thank you that you raised him from the dead. I thank you, Father, that all my sins have been removed from my life, cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Jesus Christ is my Lord. Declare it. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior and I thank you, I am the righteousness of God. I am the righteousness of God in Christ. In Jesus's name, amen.
Praise the Lord, hallelujah. For those of you who are sick, start confessing from this day believing in your heart, "With his stripes, I am healed". You got problems in your mind, amen, whether it's depression or memory problems, you know, you're experiencing more memory lapses; I feel like there's someone that's experiencing that lately, especially in frequency. Start confessing, "I have the mind of Christ". It's in the Bible. "I have the mind of Christ, and the mind of Christ have perfect recall, perfect memory. I thank you I have the mind of Christ". Imagine Adam, amen, he can name all the species of the animals one by one, and come back to the first one and still remember back then before the mind fell; but we have better than the mind of Adam. We have the mind of Christ himself, hallelujah. Praise him, start confessing whatever area of need, start confessing it. And during this pandemic, start confessing that you and your family are protected in the secret place of the Most High under the shadow of the Almighty, amen.
Stand to your feet. Let me pronounce these blessings over you for this coming week. Again, blessings are released by speaking. Do you see that? "God blessed them saying, and God blessed them saying," amen.
This coming week, the Lord bless you and your families, and the Lord keep you and your loved ones throughout this week from the COVID-19 virus. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be favorable to you. The Lord lift up his countenance, smile on you and grant to you shalom well-being, healing, and wholeness. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all the people said amen.