Joseph Prince - Now Is The Time Of Favor
Greetings, church. It's good to be back with all of you once again at the feet of the Master who said, "This is the one thing needful". And the one thing needful is to receive his Word and that's what Mary did. And Martha did not do that. She was busy serving the Lord, nonetheless, she was serving the Lord, yet she was full of strife, anxiousness, and worries that the Lord had to correct her gently by saying, "Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things". Why? Because she didn't do the one thing. And Jesus says, "But Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her, for one thing is needful".
Now, we think like what the Lord said to Martha, many things are necessary. Many things in our given day is needful, but yet the Lord says, "Only one thing is necessary. Only one thing is needful, receiving his Word". And that's exactly what you are doing every time you tune in on a Sunday to hear the Word of God, or even during the week when you tune in to hear the Word, you are doing that one thing needful that will set you free from the many things of worries and anxieties, amen. Praise the Lord. We are living in exciting times, people, and during these times especially, as we see the days ahead. And I said, I emphasize, we see. And we are people who are walking by faith and not by sight, and yet by sight, there are a lot of things that can cause fear, panic attacks, and, you know, despondency, as we see the world getting darker and darker, and yet the Bible already says that the world will get darker and darker.
Now, the sense of what the Bible is saying there is, especially in the area of moral darkness, the moral darkness will just increase as people will call things that are right wrong, and things that are wrong right, calling evil good and good evil. In that sense, that darkness will cover the earth in the last days. But we also see the signs of the times happening, and it's important that we get Jesus' perspective and what he actually said about the signs of the times because as people right now seeing in the midst of this pandemic and all that, and we have all kinds of varying reports coming from different parts of the world, and we are still in the midst of this pandemic, even as I speak. And people have different reactions. And believers especially, they are going online, they're looking at YouTube, and they're hearing a lot of the signs of the times. And many of it are good, pointing to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is imminent.
But remember this, that the coming of our Lord, the Rapture, can happen any time. It can happen even in non turbulent times. It can happen anytime, good times or bad times. In other words, the imminency of the Lord Jesus's return is always there. It can happen any time. It is not dependent upon the signs of the times, whether it's the plagues of, this plague of COVID-19 or all the signs of the earthquakes in various places. But see what Jesus says in this passage in Matthew where he says, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled". Are you doing that, people? You know, you see something online and or you hear a message preached on the end times, does it cause fear in your heart? It should not be. It should be Jesus centered. But see what the Lord himself said about the end times. He says, "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that you are not troubled".
This word "troubled," I shared in a previous message, is the word for like there's a riot, there's a crowd of riot in your mind, all kinds of troublesome thoughts, all kinds of worries, anxieties in your mind. And as you look at the world, what is happening, see that you are not troubled. See that you are not worried. See that it does not affect you in that way. If it does, then you are not having the perspective that the Lord wants you to have. Let's go on. He says, "For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet". Hmm, very interesting. The end is not yet. Yet we are saying that, I understand the expression, and I myself use it, the sign, signs of the times or the sign of the end, but I try to say sign of the times more than the end because it's not the end. Jesus himself said, "When you see all these things happening," and he's gonna talk about pestilences as well.
These are signs, but the end is not yet, in fact, it's only the beginning. Okay, he says, "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences". We are in the midst of one of them now and, of course, pestilences here is in plural. There'll be other strains of viruses in the end times. "And earthquakes in various places," earthquakes in all kinds of places, various places. "All these are the beginning of sorrows". The beginning, not even in the midst of the end. Then, you know, Jesus will return, doesn't say that, but I'm talking about Jesus's return after the seven years of tribulation. I'm talking about the Rapture can happen any time. It's not contingent upon any fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the last days, all right? Any time it can happen, whereas the personal return of Jesus, amen, to rescue Israel and to establish his kingdom on this earth will be at the end of seven years of tribulation.
Okay, but the Rapture can happen any time, and we look forward to the rapture. Praise the Lord. But nonetheless, as we see the signs of the times happening, it is not sign of the end. The Bible says that in the last days, God will pull out his Spirit upon all flesh, all flesh includes all the nations of the world, people of varied races and different languages, people of all tribes and nations, amen. All flesh is all flesh, and the Bible says in the last days, God says, "I'll pour out my Spirit". I love that word, pour out, amen, abundance upon all flesh. "And your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams: your handmaidens, your daughters, will prophesy, hallelujah. The moon will turn to blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord". That's the end of the seven years of tribulation. But towards that he says, "I'll pour out my Spirit".
So, we are looking forward for a worldwide revival, hallelujah, amen. All this moral debasement and all kind of immoralities that we are seeing has all been prophesied. But in the midst of all this, people become jaded. They are jaded with all this immorality and the more they indulge in it, they are left with an empty feeling. They are ready people for the gospel. They are ready for the good news of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. May we share the gospel of Jesus Christ to people? Because right now, there's no better time than to share during this time because people's hearts are "tried that, done that, got the T-shirt," and still come up empty inside because that void, that void is a Jesus void that only he can fill.
When God made man, God, you know, God made man to contain himself. Man is a vessel to contain the Holy Spirit, amen. And until then, all our search, our hedonistic pursuits and all our materialistic pursuits will not satisfy that hunger, that void on the inside of us. Jesus says, "I come that you might have life and have it more abundantly". So, note this. As you see all these things happening, remember what our Master said. See that you don't let yourself be troubled or be worried, amen. Whatever messages you hear, do not allow that message to bring you to a place of fear and worry about what you see happening. In fact, in another place, another gospel where he shares about the end times, he says, "Men's hearts will fail them". That's heart failure.
And don't spiritualize that. I believe it' also referring to physical heart. Men's hearts will fail them for fear of seeing those things coming upon the earth. And yet he's telling us these are not the end of the sorrows. These are actually the beginning of sorrows. We're not even in the middle, only the beginning, which means we can pray for revival to happen. We can pray, amen. Joel prophesied the revival. Let's pray for that to happen upon all the nations of the world. Let's pray for the leadership of China, amen. Let's pray that God will pour out his Spirit upon all their flesh, bless them, bring them the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, bless their health, bless their families, amen, bring them into the full salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ instead of this perspective. "Well, it's gonna just get worse and worse and worse".
And then we cease praying for the leadership of a nation, amen, because we don't see a bright future. That means our perspective has been colored by a misinterpretation of the signs of the times. Okay, praise the Lord. Okay, let's continue. I feel like I've not shared everything that the Lord has commissioned me to share with all of you for this message. The last time I preached it was on two weeks ago, and I shared it was only the beginning of the sermon. I want to continue that, okay?
Let's look at this verse in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. "For he says," God is speaking here, "'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.'" So, in the time of favor, God heard you. In the day of salvation, he says, he helped you. "I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation". Notice the emphasis now. Now is the time of God's favor. Now is the day of salvation. Now, this word here "in the time of my favor, I heard you," the time day is kairos and kairos is not just like normal use of time, that is chronos, chronology, chronological, right. Chronos is the simple word we use for time, but kairos is a seasonable time, a time of opportunity. So, in this kairos of my favor, and the word "favor" here is dektos, and dektos is used by the Lord Jesus.
Remember, of course, he spoke Hebrew and Aramaic. I'm referring to the Greek of what he said in his hometown Nazareth when he read the passage in Isaiah. And he says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted," all the way down, "to preach the acceptable year of the Lord". And the word "acceptable year of the Lord" in the King James is the word "dektos". He has come to preach the year of the free favors of God. But if you look at Isaiah where the quotation that he took it from, actually it goes on to say, "To preach the acceptable year of the Lord," comma, "the day of vengeance of our God". But the Bible says right after Jesus said, "to preach the acceptable year of the Lord", Jesus closed the book, or he roll up the book. He didn't go on to the day of vengeance, why? Because it'll be 2,000 years before the day of vengeance would come.
And we are the people of the end times, and we are still in the acceptable year, the year of God's dektos where the free favors of God abound. And the day of vengeance will be when he comes to recompense all his enemies that are trying to obstruct the gospel of Jesus Christ and those who are trying to oppress his people. And that's the end times, we talked about that. And he will establish a 1,000-year rule of heaven on earth. And we're looking forward to that as well. But we are not in the day of vengeance and that's why when even people persecute believers and all that today and all that, you don't find adverse things happening to them. We find that Jesus tells us to pray for them, to bless them who persecute you, who curse you.
And here is where we need to exemplify grace. We are not in a place where we need to preach, "Well, what happened to these people in the Old Testament will happen to you as well". No, they were under the law. We are under grace, okay? And we are under that, still that era, that dispensation where Jesus says he has come to bring the acceptable year, the dektos year of the Lord where the free favors of God profusely abound. That's how Thayer defines the word "acceptable year of the Lord," dektos. So friend, enjoy the free favors of God. Don't have this consciousness, "If I fail, what happened to David, what happened to these people in the Old Testament, can happen to me".
Friend, David was under a different dispensation. God will not punish you in that way. Listen carefully. There's discipline today, but there's no punishment. All punishment was finished at the cross. Jesus bore your sins and my sins, and he was punished in our place. Remember that, okay? So, here it says, "In the time of my favor, I heard you". So, this time of favor is wonderful because this word "heard" is actually to hear with favor. That means God will answer you. It's a prayer that God will answer. "I heard you". People sometimes feel like, you know, when they're praying, God is not hearing them. God says, "No, in this time of my favor, I will hear you. I have heard you".
And to hear with favor, which means one translation says, "To grant one's requests". That's the Greek word there heard. It's an intensified form of the word "hear". It means to grant your request, amen. And then he says, "In the day of salvation, I help you". So, not just a time of favor, but in the day of salvation, "I help you". If only we can have the time of God's favor and the day of salvation where his help profusely abound, and, you know, his help is supernatural which means if you are sick, his help will be supernatural healing. That means if you need a breakthrough in any area, his help will be supernatural help in that area. If you need a transformation from habits that you find very hard to break, the help that you get from the Lord will be a supernatural help. Supernatural means beyond your natural abilities, amen, and it's found in the day of salvation.
So, invariably, you have peoples, in fact, there's a quotation from Isaiah who prophesied this. You notice that it's in inverted commas because it's a quotation from Isaiah. And what Paul is saying by the Spirit when he wrote this is that that day of salvation, that time of God's favor where God hears with favor and where God grants the request, and also where God imparts his supernatural favor and his supernatural intervention to deliver you out of trouble, amen, out of all the curses, amen, written in the book of the law, where God rescues you from every sickness and disease, well, that help, that hearing and granting of requests is now upon us. The Bible says, "I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation".
Now, nun, the word "nun" in Greek, now. Now is the time of God's favor. What used to be a season, what used to be a kairos season is now, I said now. It's now our now, our ever-present reality. Friend, you are now in the kairos moment. Every moment is a kairos moment, but the problem is that we cannot enjoy it if we are living in the future. And living in the future, many a times, means that you are worrying. "What if? What if this happens? What if that don't work out? What if these symptoms in my body is something more sinister"? You know, but listen, my friend, live in the now, live in the now, amen. So, your mind is playing all kinds of games, you know, saying that this might be that in the future and all that, but are you enjoying your life now? Why don't you just enjoy your life now? Amen.
Whatever happens in the future, I'm gonna enjoy my life now. Even if there's something sinister that might happen and all that, God will deliver me out of it. But right now, I am healthy. Right now, I'm still breathing. Right now, amen, I'm alive and I'm gonna live in the now. Praise the Lord, amen. So, if you live in the now, God says, what is true of the time of his favor will all be there in your now, only in your now, not in your future, not in your past. And the day of salvation when God imparts his supernatural help, amen, he comes in to deliver you, that reality is in your now. You must live in the now to experience God's favor. You must live in the now to experience his salvation in every area. Unfortunately, we use this verse only for sinners to come to know Jesus. We just say, "You know, now is the day of salvation". But the time of favor and salvation, the word "salvation" is not just saved from hell, amen. But the word "salvation" is also the word "rescue, preservation, health, wholeness".
In fact, the verb form is used by our Lord. When he says, "Your faith has healed you," it's the word "sozo" from the word "salvation," soteria, the verb form is sozo. So, healing is in salvation. So, the day of healing, the day of wholeness, the day of peace, the day of shalom, the day of salvation is now. If we live in the now, all that is true of salvation will happen to us. You get what I'm saying? Don't live in the future and don't live in the past. The past is not now, and the past usually is the form of regret. "If only I had not done that. If only, if only, if only, if only". The past is if only, the future is what if? It's like a dance, if only, what if? If only, what if? If only. Live in the now! Now is the day of salvation. God's favor is not found in your past, it's not found in the future. It is in your now. Enjoy your now and you will enjoy God's favor. Hallelujah, amen.
Now is your time of supernatural help. In fact, that's how the Bible teaches us about faith. You know, people find faith is such a mystery sometimes. And sometimes when people hear faith being taught, they end up more confused because faith is actually very simple. It is the lifestyle of the New Covenant believer. It is something that is not mentioned often in the Old Testament. In fact, we find verses like, you know, a remote verse like, "Children in home is no faith," things like that. Or the just, Habakkuk, "The just shall live by faith," that Paul preaches out from in a number of his books that he wrote. But in the New Covenant, it is out there in the forefront. We walk by faith, not by sight. We are saved by faith, amen.
People are healed under Jesus's ministry by faith. He will say to them like I said just now, "Your faith has made you well". He will tell them, "your faith". Of course, his power is involved, but he puts right squarely on the person, "It was your faith that activated my power to flow into you". Praise the Lord. We are sanctified by faith, become holy by faith. The Bible says in the Book of Acts that having their hearts purified through faith. Hearts are purified through faith. "Blessed are they who are pure in heart, for they shall see God". Our hearts are purified through faith. Praise the Lord. So, faith is how we live our life, our Christian life. Walking in the Spirit is walking in faith, but what is faith?
Well, a simple thing that I want to share with you is this, faith is now. In fact, the definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11, verse 1. It says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," not felt, not touched. Gotta look at the five senses. Well, it is not those things, all right, it's not in those things seen. In fact, people are now worried and filled with anxiety because of what they see. They see in social media, they see in the news and around the world, but they're not living by faith.
Now, faith is not pretend it exists. No, no, faith is a reality that goes beyond your sight, amen. Like all around us right now, there are radio waves. Just because I can't see them doesn't mean they're not there. It's real. I mean, not just radio waves, TV waves and internet waves and wireless. You know, all the waves around us, it's real. Just because we can't see it, if we go by what we see, it's very limited reality. There's a reality that goes beyond this. And man just discovered there are germs that they can't see. Right, not too long ago, they fell prey to this because of something they can't see. But now we can see the germs. But there are things that beyond.
Atoms, for example, man can now, you know, penetrate into the mysteries of the atom. Yet there's a mystery beyond that mystery that is unseen. What holds the atoms together? You know, it is supposed, by all natural deduction, it's supposed to be like split apart. But what is the force that holds the atoms together? For everything is made by atoms, but there's something greater than atom, the source of the atom. What is that?
The Bible says, "In Christ, all things are held together," hallelujah. "For by Him all things were created and without Him was nothing made that was made," amen. He made everything. Praise the Lord. He is the force that holds the atoms together. When he is in your life, my friend, he holds you together. We call that integrity. We call that wholeness. He holds your marriage together when he is the center person in your married life. Yes, every married life needs a third party. His name is Jesus. He holds your marriage together, amen. He's in your life, he will hold your mind together. He will hold everything together in your life. Praise the Lord. For in him, all things are held together. Praise the Lord.
So, we live in the now, and in the now we see all the favors of God. We enjoy the help of God. God hears our prayers in the now. In fact, Jesus taught us to pray like this. Right after he cursed the fig tree, the very next day they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance, said to the Lord, "Lord, the fig tree that you cursed is withered away". Was Jesus just feeling vindictive against the fig tree that was fruitless? No, no, he was trying to illustrate faith. He was teaching his disciples faith, how faith operates. Then Jesus answered and said, "Whoever shall say to the mountain, 'Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea,' and will not doubt in his heart but believe that those things which he says will come to pass," not those things he sees, those things which he say, even though contrary to the evidence and what you feel in your body, you speak it first, okay? And then he says, "He shall have whatsoever he saith". Then Jesus said this, "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them".
Now notice once again, this is the key to answered prayer. "Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe"... Don't believe before or after. Believe when you pray. Believe what? "Believe that you receive them". And the word "believe" is in the present tense in the Greek. Believe right now, believe that you have received them. You have received them. Believe now that you have received them, and you will have them, and you will have them. That's future tense. You will have them. So, believe now you have it, and you will have it. Did you get it? Believe now that you have it, when you pray, whatever you're praying for, you're praying for healing, regardless of the pain that you feel, regardless of the symptoms that you still notice in your body, God says, "Believe that you have received them". He didn't say feel that you have received them. He says, "Believe, believe, believe that you receive them, and you will have them".
Believe that you receive them, and you will have them in your future. Believe now that you receive them. Now is the important part. When you're praying, whatever you're praying, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. So you shall have is predicated on believe that you receive them. So, believe that you receive them is in the realm of unseen. It's an unseen realm. You can't see it. And believe you receive them, and you shall have them, that is the seen realm. It will manifest. It might take one day, it might take a week, it might take a month. It will manifest. And many a times for healing, especially, it may manifest thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and then a hundredfold. Don't give up. Praise the Lord, believe.
And people ask you, "Are you well"? say "I'm well". "But you still look sick, and you still have the symptom". "I am well. Praise the Lord. By his stripes, I am healed," healed, past tense, "I am healed". It's a done deal. Now, Jesus said something very interesting that used to puzzle me for a long time until he opened this up to me, and this verse is mentioned by the Lord in a few teachings, like when he taught on the parable of the talents. He brought this verse up. He shared this verse. And then when he talked about the sower and the seed, he also brought up this verse. So, if... and just penetrating to the nuggets of revelation the Lord has for us is gonna change our life, like he changed mine when I pursued the Lord, translating this verse, because it's like a mystery. Look at this verse, Matthew 25, the Lord said, "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance".
Now, it used to puzzle me. Everyone who has, more will be given. Now, I like more will be given, but what is this has? To everyone who has. Has what? He doesn't tell you what you have. But he says, "To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away". Now, I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want what I have to be taken away. So, the Lord is saying, even what he has will be taken away, if he has not. Mm, it's like a mystery, and he shared this also in the parable of the sower and the seed.
But you look at Young's Literal Translation, it says, "for to everyone having," and you look up the Greek there, it is in the present tense, "for to everyone having shall be given, and he shall have overabundance," perisseuó in the Greek. He shall have over and above, abundance, not just abundance, not just more be given like in the New King James, but he says, "he shall have overabundance," and the Greek there bears it out. So, in other words, "everyone having shall be given, and he shall have overabundance, and from him who is not having, even that which he has shall be taken from him".
So, in other words, if you say, "I have it," God is saying more abundance will come to you. You will have more, overabundance, amen. But if you say you don't have it, even what you have (that means you have it) even what you have will be taken away. Wow. Actually, this person has it. He does not know he has it. He's acting like he has it not; therefore, even what he has is taken away from him. Do you get the principle here? Do you get the principle here? Everyone having, the Lord says if you say you have it, and the word "have it" is a present active in the Greek, which means you say, "Yes, I have it, I have it". The Lord says, "More abundance is coming your way". More, you'll have more.
And the Lord says, "But you say, 'No, I don't have it, I don't have it, because I don't feel I have it, I can't see it, I don't believe it,'" okay, even what you have, actually, you have it. The Lord has answered you more than you know. You have it, but you are waiting to fill it. You don't even know you have it. So, the Lord says, "Even what you have will be taken away". We don't want that to happen. So, this is the principle of faith. In fact, in the sower and the seed, he says it like this in Luke 8, verse 18: "Therefore take heed how you hear". It's important when you hear God's Word, how do you react to it? When the Bible says, "With his stripes we are healed," we must say, "We have it".
We're not trying to get healing. We have healing. But then your body screams out, "You're a liar. You don't have healing. Look, there's pain here, there's this symptom here, there's that symptom". But we are functioning in a greater reality beyond that which is sight and sense, okay? We are walking by faith, and faith is the reality. God is eternal. In fact, the Bible says the things that you can see are temporal. God, you cannot see God, right? But God is eternal. Angels are eternal. Your spirit man is eternal. Anything that you can see, this stage, this platform, this pulpit, the seats around here, they're all, if I can see it, it's temporal. But the things which are not seen, the Bible says, are eternal.
So, if you say you have it, overabundance, in fact, the word down there is perisseuó. Overabundance is coming your way. More will be given to you. If you say you don't have it, even what you have will be taken away. But in Luke he says, "Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has," so here we go. If I hear that I'm healed, the Bible says, "With his stripes," the stripes that Jesus bore on his back, with his stripes, I am healed, and I say I have it, the Bible says more healing is coming your way. More health is coming your way. But even though the Lord has done it for me, with his stripes I am healed, if I say I don't have it, the Lord says, "Even what you have," and what I have is healing, purchased by his stripes, by his blood, by his broken body, even what I have will be taken away.
And guess who is the one that steals it away? But the Bible says if you say you have it, overabundance will be given to you, above and beyond will be given to you, more will be given to you, hallelujah. Hey, isn't that exciting? Praise the name of Jesus. So, do you have it? Are you seated with Christ? Yes, so that throne power, that throne life, amen, flows in and through you. When you speak, things happen. When you command in the name of Jesus, things are carried out. Praise the Lord. Why? You are seated on his throne at the Father's right hand. The Bible says we are seated with Christ. Now, many people, when they hear that, they say, "Yeah, one day we'll rule with Christ. We'll be seated". No, we are seated, present tense, now. Do you have it? Are you in the now?
If you say you have it, more will be given to you. You say, "I don't have it," even what you have is taken away. Okay? Do you remember the prodigal son, the story of the prodigal son? Jesus shared the story of the prodigal son and how one son came to the Father and said, "Father, give me my share of the inheritance". And that is terrible rudeness to the father. It's almost like, "I cannot wait for you to die. I want my inheritance now". So, the father had two sons, and the younger came to him and said that, and he gave the younger one his part of the inheritance, and he went away and spent his money on riotous living. And when his money ran out, his friends ran out, and he was hungry, and the only job he could find was to feed the pigs in the pig pen.
And for a Jew, that is the pits, right, because they have no dealings with pigs, okay? And he was feeding the pigs. Even what the pigs were eating was something that he was considering to eat, and there he started thinking, "My father's house, there's bread enough and to spare". Never forget that, my friend. Every time you come to God's house, there's bread enough and to spare, to meet your needs, hallelujah. Jesus' blood, when he died on that cross, has supplied, given you the blood bought title to every blessing that God has for you. Amen? So, he started thinking, "In my father's house, there's bread enough and to spare. I know what I'll do. I'll arise and go to my father".
Notice, his motive was bread enough and to spare. His motive was actually his stomach. He didn't go back to the father because he loved the father, because he missed the father. He went back because he was hungry; and yet, God will accept the sinner. If the sinner comes to him, whether it's for fire insurance to escape the lake of fire, whether he wants to be saved because of other reason, all right, if he really want to be saved, God will take him at that level. It's easy to be saved. Even the sinner on the cross, right, the thief, he was a thief. Jesus didn't, you know, he told Jesus, "Lord, remember me," the Lord didn't say, you know, "You know you're a thief," or, "You have to restore everything you have taken before you can be saved". No, the Lord says, "Today, you shall be with me in paradise". Amen? Not hard to be saved. Looking to the Lord, calling upon him. "Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved".
All that's true of Jesus and what he did for you at the cross will become real for you. So, he got up, he went to the father, and the father saw him from afar. That means the father was always scanning the horizon for his son. When the father saw him, the father ran towards him. Again, that is not normal. An elderly man of a village would not be found running. It's below his dignity, okay? But this man, when he saw his son, he ran, he ran. And don't forget Jesus, talking about his father, and the prodigal son is all of us, and when God ran to rescue the sinner, when God runs towards you and I, amen? So, the father ran, and the father, you know, he had a rehearsed speech, you know. "I've sinned against heaven and earth". He was about to say, "I'm no longer worthy to be called your son".
He never got a chance. Why? Because the father was embracing him and kissing him. And in the Greek, it's "kissing him repeatedly". And the father says, "Come, celebrate, bring here the fatted calf, and let's kill it". And that was a sacrificial calf, by the way, right? That was the basis for the forgiveness of all the boy's sins. And, of course, they had a celebration and all that, and then the oldest son heard music and dancing. I find it very interesting that his oldest son, actually really just people, and they believe that by their works, they rescue themselves, they save themselves, by their works they have favor with God. It's always what they do. And this older brother, of course, they represent the Pharisees who were there when Jesus shed, in fact, the beginning of Luke 15 tells us that the Pharisees came, and there were sinners as well, and the Pharisees are the religious folks, so they represent the older brother. And the prodigal son is all the sinners.
So, here Jesus addressed the older brother, and the older brother asked, "What is this"? He asked the servants, "What is this music and dancing all about"? Imagine asking the servants, "What is the meaning of the music and dancing"? You see, music and dancing in the father's house is foreign to the self-righteous person. He could only criticize it. He doesn't understand music and dancing, celebrating songs, songs of joy. He only knows like songs of mournful dirge and, you know, mournful songs, but not songs of joy. So, they said, "Oh, your father has received your brother safe and sound, and therefore he's thrown this party". And the Bible says he refused, the older brother refused to go into the party. And the father came out. See, the father has love, as well, for the older brother. And this is what the older brother said to him. He said, "So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I".
Notice the pronoun, personal pronoun "I" used here. "These many years I have been serving you. I never transgressed your commandment," mm-hm, "at any time". Wow, you sure about that? "I never transgressed your commandment at any time". Don't forget, the Lord is illustrating people who are self-righteous, who believe they have never transgressed the Father's commandment. "I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends". Not even make merry with you, father. The father says, "Rejoice with me. My son was lost, now he's found. Rejoice with me". The Father wants us to rejoice with him, but here it says, "that I might make merry with my friends, away from my father". And notice what he says. "You never gave me a young goat. You never gave me a young goat. You never gave me a young goat".
Notice the father's reply. The father says, "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. You are always with me". The father didn't even say, "Since when you kept every commandment"? He didn't point out all his mistakes. The father went, he zeroed in to what his mentality was. "You never gave me a young goat". In other words, I've been trying to earn, even for a goat, I've been trying to earn your favor. I've been trying to earn by keeping, as best as I know how, your commandments. And the father zeroes in and says, "Son," and that's a term of endearment, teknon in the Greek. "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours". Now, "All that I have is yours," the "all" there is actually the Greek word "pas" which means every kind of variety of blessings and riches is yours, not just one type, every type, pas. Pas is used for all limits, variety, variegated blessings, amen? "All that I have is yours".
And the word "is" there in the Greek is in the present tense active voice. "It's actually yours. It's now yours. Even the young goat is yours. You don't have to ask me for it. It is yours". But because he says, "I don't have it," he was so busy trying to earn favor with the father. He says, every time he says, "I don't have this, I don't have that, I don't have this, I don't have that," he's operating out of a sense of emptiness, a sense of like, you know, even though he was a son at home, he operated like a slave, like a servant's mentality, whereas the son who was lost, who came back, who wanted to be a servant to earn bread, to eat, the father says, "My son was lost". And the father reinstated him and gave him even more than what he lost. He never had the ring.
Now he has the ring. The father says, "Put sandals on his feet," hallelujah. Under the law, God told Moses, "Take off your shoes. The place where you're standing is holy". But under grace, God says, "Put shoes on his feet. He has a right to stand in my presence". Hallelujah for grace. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, amen. So now we stand before the Lord, amen, as a son. It's a whole world of difference when a son goes down into the servant's quarters, and he looks at all the rules and regulations, okay, of how they function and all the timetable that they have and all that for all their various duties, the son can read it. The son can even participate and help in some of this, but never in a servant's spirit, never in a slavish spirit. It's always as a son. He, as a son, can serve, and there's dignity when the son serves. Hallelujah, but he doesn't serve in a slavish, fearful spirit.
Doesn't, you know, serve because he's afraid of the master's displeasure. He serves because he loves the father. And that's your place and my place, child of God, hallelujah. Notice the older brother says, "You never, you never gave me," and the father is, "All that I have is," is, not will be, "is yours". The Bible says we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We are not a heir apparent. You know heir apparent means you are the prince. You are waiting to become king in place of your father. That's the heir apparent. The Bible doesn't say we are heir apparent. The Bible says we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Do you have it? Are you that, amen? Then you have a spirit of fullness, a spirit of completeness. The Bible says you are complete in Christ.
So, walk you in him. In other words, only when you know you're complete, can you walk out that completeness in your relationships, in your various duties and responsibilities before the Lord, amen? But you come out of it, you proceed from a posture of emptiness, you'll be found wanting. Now, if I were to ask you, what do you think was the most, evidently for us to proceed in the gospels, the most humbling act of our Lord Jesus Christ during his earthly life here? Right, you would say when he stooped down, girded himself with a towel, and washed the disciples' feet. Yeah, and I'll agree, okay? Of course, we know that the greatest condescension was when God became man. But talking about his earthly life, there would be an act that we would point to as the most humbling act of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's read that. And it says, "After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded". Wow, what an act, what a humbling act. The Prince of Heaven stooping down to wash sinners' feet. Hallelujah. But notice that it says after that, what preceded this was this. Let me show you the background. It says like this, the Holy Spirit, purposefully there's no redundant verse in the Bible. Okay, people? All right, and the Holy Spirit said this: "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands". He knew it. All right, he didn't proceed from a sense of emptiness to wash the disciples's feet. No, he proceeded from a sense of fullness, completeness. When you know you're a child of God, when you know you're complete in Christ, when you know you are the righteousness of God in Christ, when you know you're seated with Christ in heavenly places, only then can you afford to be humble. Only then can you stoop down and serve others, even wash their feet.
People who are proud are insecure. That's the reason they are proud. They are proud because they feel insecure. Jesus can afford to be humble because he's been given all things by his Father. And when he humbles himself, there's such glory in that humility. And child of God, this is a key to true humility: you have to know what you have, you have to know who you are in Christ. Then you can afford to be humble, because only insecure people are proud. "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God". There's nothing ambiguous about the Lord here, thinking whether he came from God. He knew he came from God. He knew he was going to God. He knew, knowing the Father had given all things into his hands, now in that posture, in that knowing, in that position he, "rose from supper and laid aside his garments, took a towel and girded himself. And after that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples's feet, and to wipe them with a towel with which He was girded". Hallelujah.
To Jesus be all the praise and the glory, amen. And, of course, he always loves to serve us. He always loves to serve. If we allow him to serve us just like Mary did. Whereas Martha was trying to serve a God incarnate, she saw him in his emptiness, in his tiredness, in the natural, needing her ministry, whereas Mary saw beyond the natural, saw beyond the tiredness, into a fullness that was there for her to receive. And the Lord was so glad with Mary. It's important how you see the Lord, amen? It's important how you see yourself, also. When you proceed from a posture of fullness, knowing the Father has given you all things, you can afford to forgive. It was when Joseph knew that he was the most powerful man in the land at that time, in all the world, actually, Egypt was the foremost nation at that time, and he was the most powerful man, of course, besides Pharaoh, but he's given executive power. He had all the power in his hands. He saw his brothers, who betrayed him, who sold him.
And with that power, knowing that he has all the power, he used that power to forgive his brothers. Hallelujah. You see, friend, if we try to be humble out of a sense of emptiness, inferiority, we can never do it properly. Okay? It makes a lot of difference when a prince kneels down and washes the disciples' feet, compared to a servant. There's no glory there, but you see the prince, there's a glory there, amen. So, you do it conscious of who you are in Christ. If you have it, you believe you have it. Praise the Lord. More will be given to you. You say, "I don't have it, then even what you have will be taken away". Mm. The older brother said, "You never gave me". The father says, "All that I have is actually," even now, present tense, active voice, present tense, active voice, "yours. It is yours actively. Take it, take it".
I can only imagine if my son Justin looks at, you know, the food laid on the table, and he saw his favorite cheese, and he sees cheese there and says, "Daddy, can I please, have a piece of cheese, please, please"? Anyone looking at that scene would think that I'm abusing my boy. Imagine the way we ask God. We don't ask him in confidence. The Bible says come boldly, amen, to the throne of undeserved favor. Hallelujah. You obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Mercy is not receiving all the bad things that you deserve, you and I deserved. Mercy is not receiving those bad things. Grace is receiving all the blessings and all the good things of God that we don't deserve. So, we get both. We get mercy and grace, where? At the throne of grace. Hallelujah. Child of God, this is special, this is beautiful. Live in the now.
Now, in fact, now faith is the substance of things hoped for. That's how he starts. "Now faith is the substance of thins hoped for". Even those three words there, "Now faith is," think of that. That's present tense. "Now faith is," now faith. Faith is in the now. Do you have it now? Not in the future. You say yes, more will be given to you. If not, you say you don't have it, then even what you have, you actually have it, even what you have will be taken away. So, now faith is. Remember when the story of Lazarus, and Lazarus was dead already for a few days, and Jesus came to Bethany, and Martha, again, same Martha and Mary, Martha went to Jesus, and this is what she said to the Lord: "Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.'"
Notice where she put the Lord. The Lord is right now in front of her. The Lord is standing in front of her, amen, the one who cleansed the leper, stopped deaf ears, opened the eyes of the blind is right there standing right now in front of her. And yet, she says, "Lord, if you had been here". She's putting him in the past, "'My brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.' Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said to Him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.'" And now she's putting Jesus where? In the last day, in the future. "'I know he will rise in the last day when everybody is resurrected.' Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.'"
Notice what the Lord said to Martha. "I am," present tense, "I am in front of you," present tense, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this"? You see, the Lord is right in front of her. She's putting the Lord in the past, and she's putting the Lord in the future. Do you know there are people who say things like this? You know, people believe God for healings and miracles, you know, and these are Christians saying this kind of thing. "But, you know, the age of miracles is past. Now we have all of these professionals to help us and all that".
Thank God for all these professionals, thank God for all the doctors, and thank God for all the means by which God gives, I believe they are from God, amen? There is a good and perfect gift from the Father of lights. Good are for common people, amen, people all over the world, but the perfect gift is for his children. Amen, so I thank God, right? So, they said because of that, but the error is this, to say because of this we don't need the miracles anymore. No, and they will say things like, "The age of miracles". Friend, there never was an age of miracles, only a God of miracles, and that God is in your present tense right now. Friend, there's a verse in the Bible that says, "God is a very present help in times of trouble". Hallelujah, look at this verse, Psalms 46. Praise the Lord, hallelujah. I preach myself happy, man.
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble," a very present help in the pandemic, a very present help in your lack, a very present help in your marital turmoil, a very present, what? Help. Hallelujah, God is our refuge and strength. He's a very present help. But very present means very now, very present, not a future help, not a past help. Yes, thank God, we can read about what he did in the past, so that, you know why God wrote all the stories in the Bible for us to read? So that we have confidence for what he can do now. To say that the age of miracles is past is to miss the point of what God's purpose in putting all these stories in the Old Testament, so that we know the same God that delivered Goliath into David's hands is the same God that will deliver all our Goliaths, whether it's COVID-19 or whatever virus, and whatever besets you, that's troubling you, into your hands. You'll rule over it, amen, praise the Lord.
Be conscious of the now. All the favor of God, all the salvation of God, all the answered prayer, and all the supernatural help of God is in your now. You know, in the practical things of life, I find that we cannot even, I preached on this. You know, I have to watch it because I still get out into my zone of into the future. You know, for example, the other day I was playing badminton with my wife, and she's very good at badminton, I'll tell you that. And I'm not too bad but, you know, she'll make me run, you know, left and right, and, you know, we play well together. But just the other day I was thinking about the church and things about matters that I need to look into, also about the sermon that I'll preach and all that.
And as I was playing with her, I noticed that my performance was dropping. I was not present. I was not in the now, and it affected my performance. I know it's a small thing, but, you know, in all the affairs of life... by the way, I got myself back and said, "I'm going to enjoy this moment with my wife, playing this game. I won't think about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself. I'm going to enjoy this time with her". And my performance improved. And you will find that even in sports, they will say things like this, "That guy was in the flow yesterday. You know, usually when he plays, he's not like that. He's in the flow". They call it flow. But before that, there was a time, a few decades ago, they call it in the zone. You know, in the zone.
Now, they call it in the flow, in the flow. That guy is in flow, but in the zone, used to be in the zone. But before it was in the zone, do you know what they call it? Literally, many years ago, they call it a state of grace, a state of grace. Literally a state of grace. Child of God, you are not under law. That's why sin has no dominion over you. You're not under law, you're performing under you working for God, all right? But you're under grace. God is working for you. It's a flow, amen? And the only way to get out of grace is to try to put in effort. When you put in effort, you frustrate the grace of God. The grace of God is for you to have. God is supplying me right now. Law is demand oriented, right? Thou shall not, thou shall not, thou shall not. And we are trying our best not to, okay? And the more we try not to, the more we fall into sin because the strength of sin is the law.
But here, grace is actually supply minded. Supply, God is supplying. God is working in my life. God is working in me right now. God is working through me right now, and God is working for me. And I participate in it, amen? Even my prayer is to see the flow of what the Spirit of God is doing. And I participate in that flow, hallelujah. So, you are under grace, a state of grace, hallelujah. Perpetually, always you're under the state of grace. What, like in sports. I'm saying sport because it applies to every area of your life, whether you have a big presentation this coming week, or even like you need to talk to someone, some things that are a bit sensitive to talk about, right? If you overthink it, if you try to labor over it so much, you'll find that you step out of the state of grace. You step out of the flow, you step out of the zone.
You know, you got a presentation this week and all that. If you overthink it, and you overthink it when you worry about it. You step out of the state of grace. You step out of the flow. You're no more in the zone. And you know, many of the sports to be watched, whether it's tennis or whatever it is, you know, you'll find that a guy who is seasoned, he has won all the slams and finally, you know, the final one, and he cannot make it. Why? Usually, it's because of pressure. He wants so much to win that particular one that he becomes, he overthinks it. He steps out of the zone, okay? Out of the flow and loses the game. I remember also Zidane sharing in the quarter final in 2006 against Brazil, he says, "This is Brazil". And Brazil was very strong, a team that was very strong. And he says that, you know, they were like the underdogs, so they play against Brazil. And you know what he said? He says that, "If we lose, we lose. This is Brazil. It's not a shame to lose against Brazil".
With that mentality, he played one of his best games. Until today, people talk about that game. Talk about Zidane, they talk about the 2006 quarter final with Brazil. The way he played that even Posh Spice, David Beckham's wife says Zidane was like a ballerina. And if you watch it on YouTube, whatever, 2006 Zidane, you will find him, you know, going behind defenders and all that. There's such grace, such a beauty. But he says that he cannot replicate that. You know, it's like at that moment, he comes, he flows in it. He doesn't overthink it. Like the volley that he did, doesn't overthink it. It comes, it was instinctive. Now, you can say, "Well, it's all hard work". Of course, we don't take anything away from that. But Zidane himself will tell you, many a times it's not got to do with no matter how much they work and all that.
You know, there are many other players who work hard as well. But the zone, that place is a place where you don't overthink it, you don't worry. You just step into it. Amen, relax. If we win, we win. Many a times, like even a player who's professional, a champion, you know, he starts overthinking it. He starts to, you know, playing tennis and all, he starts to, like, worry about his game. And that's when he falls. When he enjoys the game, it's a flow. Remember this, when you enjoy what you're doing, it's a flow, amen. And the Bible says God has given us richly all things to enjoy. Hallelujah, praise the Lord. And you operate in a sense of fullness, amen? Before you step into a presentation, or you're doing marketing, or you're trying to sell something in your line of work and all that, if you are anxious for the result, usually you end up with nothing, okay? But you're not anxious for the result, the results are there. You have it, more will be given to you. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Amen? And be present in your relationships with your family.
Friend, don't wait for an event. Yes, when the event comes, it becomes a now. When tomorrow comes, it becomes now, right? Amen? Don't worry about the future. Don't even postpone your enjoyment today, your happiness today, your joy today for a future event. Enjoy it now. See the good in the now. When your child talks to you, the child is at this stage of growth. Don't expect the child to expound on the 70th week of Daniel, amen? Whatever level your child is talking to you, be present, be in the now. Show him how much you love him by listening to him, amen? You know, listening is a lost art, why? People's minds drift. They drift so much. They're not listening, amen? I myself, I'm guilty of this. And what I'm preaching to you, I'm saying, "Physician, heal yourself," okay? I'm also have to be conscious. Just like I told you the other day, I was playing badminton.
And you know, I started thinking about the future and about what I need to do and all that. And it affected my performance. I stepped out of the state of grace. Mm, sin has no power when you are under grace. Grace is a flow. The anointing is a flow, right? That's why the anointing is represented by the oil in the Old Testament. Oil, it gives you flow. When you touch oil, it's a flow, right? The door is creaking, what do you do? You anoint the hinges with oil. And what happened? Now, it's a flow, amen. We grunt, we make a lot of noise. We've been putting a lot of effort, why? There's no oil, amen? When there's oil, things become flowing. Praise God, amen? I don't want to hear a dry preacher. I want to hear an oily preacher. I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Hallelujah, praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah.
Friend, be present in the now. Now is where it is at, now. Now, look at this verse in closing. I want to share with you something that I think, you know, I like to give homework, amen. And homework is not homework. I think we should call it home grace. Home flow, amen? Home grace, home flow, praise God. So, this coming week, do this. Matthew 6, verse 34, Jesus said, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own". The Message Bible, I love this one, "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes".
I love it, do you see that? Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now. Don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. So, you say, "Well, I need to worry about the future because I need to be prepared. You know, those who fail to plan plan to fail. I need to be prepared". You know, but friend, your mentality's out of fear because, you know, you're saying, "Unless I prepare myself, I'll fail when the time comes". Not if you're worried. You can plan without worry, okay? I'm not talking about planning things that are legitimate, okay? I'm talking about things that you are just projecting, you know?
Trying to over-prepare yourself, overthinking the future. Then you are worried about the future. But you need to know this, that when the future comes, there'll be grace for your future. God will always give grace for your rest. God will give you grace, just like Israel. God gave them manna every day. And they can't keep manna to the next day, it spoils. Manna will spoil. They must eat the manna for the day. Next day, they must trust God for fresh manna. And the next day, they'll trust God for fresh manna. However, on the sixth day, before the day of rest, on the seventh day is the day of rest, their Sabbath. God gives them double manna, why? Because God wants them to have confidence that they can rest. The supply is there. God wants them so much to rest.
Now, back then, it was physical rest. Now, for you, it may involve physical rest for some of you, but basically in essence, what I'm sharing about is resting on the inside. Resting on the inside, amen? Where you live in the now. When you find that you live in the now, your mind becomes mentally sound. Amen? What the psychiatrist will call a person who is whole, integrated, amen? You'll find all the kinks in your personality starts, you know, dissipating, and you find that wholeness comes in mentally, and then even physically. 'Cause many of it is caused by stressed. Many of it is caused by disease, it's caused by dis-ease, when you're not at ease. So, live in the now, praise the Lord.
And now, I want to finish off by just looking at the entire passage before this. Jesus says, "If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers, most of which are never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving". Now, that is grace. Grace is God giving. Grace is God's supply. So, you can respond to God's supply, amen. "People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing," what, when? "Right now". What God is doing right now in your relationship.
When you're talking to your spouse, pay attention to what God is doing right now. Maybe it's coming through your spouse's mouth, amen? Maybe God wants you to pay attention to something that's happening right now. So, you just be now and you find that all the help you need in that relationship will be there. All the favor you need in that relationship will be there, amen? Not just in a relationship, any area of your life be present, be in the now. Well, I hope that you've been blessed as I have delivering the Word. You know, I preach myself happy. Friend, every day, there'll be new struggles, amen? Don't worry about them.
And don't steep your mind in social media all the time, and look at all the pictures, and the visions, and all the visuals that, you know, it's a visually-driven culture, I know, and it's a digitized generation as well. But if you can stay away from your phone, master it, don't let it master you. Amen, use it for, you know, use it, don't let it use you. Don't be a slave to it, amen? Enjoy the now. Don't spend time lost, you know, into the future, what will happen this, you know, what this person say, what that person say and all that. Be in the present, amen? Praise the Lord. Hallelujah, amen. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Stand to your feet, church. Praise the Lord. If you have never received Jesus Christ, my friend, if you are watching this right now and you have never met Jesus Christ, your personal Savior and your Lord, the Bible says if you confess with your mouth Jesus Christ is your Lord, believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, even now you believe that, you are saved and saved now. If that is you, pray this prayer with me right now. I want to lead you in this prayer. Say:
Heavenly Father, thank you Christ died for my sins and rose from the dead without them. Thank you, Father God, Jesus Christ is my Savior and my Lord. Thank you, Father, that you love me so much. I'm now your child, and you have given me every blessing that you have. Thank you, Father God. Teach me in these coming days more and more of the Lord Jesus Christ, that I may fall deeper in love with him. Amen, in Jesus's name. And all the people said amen.
Praise the Lord, lift your hands. Praise the name of Jesus. If you're with your loved ones, you can hold your spouse's hand, it'll be wonderful. Amen, just lift your hands before the Lord. For this coming week, I pray that God's blessings that he has given to you will be made manifest in your life as you are being conscious of them, as you believe you are having them. May more be given to you this coming week. May this sermon be a demonstration in your life this week. And in the name of Jesus, do you have protection? Are you in the secret place of the Most High? God is our refuge and strength, a very present help. The word "refuge" there is the same word in Psalms 91, "I will say of the Lord he is my refuge". Same word used there, amen? Is God your refuge from the COVID-19 virus, even from the Delta variant? Yes. Do you have it, do you have the protection from God? Yes. More be given to you. Praise the Lord, amen?
And this coming week, in the name of the Lord Jesus, I pray that you be protected, you and your loved ones will be protected completely from the COVID-19 virus and from the Delta variant, that God will place you at the right place at the right time, and that you will enjoy the free favors of God, you and all your loved ones. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all the people said right now amen. God bless you.