Joseph Prince - Live The Overcoming Life
God still heals today, amen, church? I don't know what the doctors have told you. We thank God for doctors, but they can only go so far, amen. In fact, good doctors will tell you they can deal with the symptoms, they can remove some things, but it's God that does the healing. And God still heals. I say, God still heals. So if you are you right now beset with a negative report from the doctors, whatever it is, or a loved one is now sick, not feeling well, believe that God is a good God and that he wants your loved one, or you, healed more than you want to be healed. That's how good God is. God is so good that when man rebelled against him and took perfect goodness that was walking on this earth 2,000 years ago, our Lord Jesus is perfect goodness in the flesh.
When he walked on this earth, all he did was he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. For God was with him. He went about doing good, restoring, lifting up, encouraging, healing, setting the oppressed free, casting demons out of people that are demonized, possessed. And yet, man took him and put him on the cross. It's almost as if to say, "God, this is what we think of your perfect goodness. We don't need him". And they put him on the cross. And yet, God, who is perfect goodness himself, took the very act, the wicked act of man putting his Son, his beloved Son on the cross, and God used it as an instrument of redemption and forgiveness. For when Christ hung on that cross, God put on him all our sins and all the sins of the world.
And God says, "You might reject him, you might not want him, but I'm gonna demonstrate to you how much I love you by your wicked act. I'm gonna change that wicked act into the very symbol of redemption". Can I have a good amen? Amen? And then on the third day, he raised Christ from the dead, amen. If earth does not want him, heaven says, "We have a place at the Father's right hand, the place of greatest honor and glory for the Son of his love". And all those who believe in him, the Bible says, we are delivered from the authority of darkness, Colossians 1, and we have been translated into the kingdom. Your King James says, "The kingdom of his dear Son". But in the Greek, it is more beautiful than that: "The kingdom of the Son of his love".
Isn't that beautiful? The kingdom of the Son of his love. I have my boy, he's now two and a half, and you know something? Church, I love him so much with a passion. Yesterday, I missed him so much because usually on Saturday, I'll shut myself in, and I will hear his voice somewhere in the house. And I was so tempted to go out and play with him. And if you tell me that the son of my love, would I give him up for sinners that they will take him with wicked hands, bring him out to a garden somewhere, put nails in his hands, and crucify him and this is necessary, all right, to take away the sins of man, I will say, let man suffer, amen. My son is not, but God... how many are glad God is not like me and you? Aren't you glad, amen? And yet, we charge God with things that we would not even do for our children.
And Jesus said, "If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those that ask him"? So don't think for one moment you are gooder than God, amen. Even to understand... by the way, those of you who are doing your exams and all that, if you're watching this, there's no such word as gooder, all right? You know, one time the rich young ruler came to Jesus, fell before him and said, "Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life"? Notice the flattery, "Good Master, what must I do"? He was a wealthy man, and he came to Jesus, he's a yuppie, rich young ruler. And he said, "What must I do to inherit eternal life"? His focus was on his doing, his performance. And had he said, "Lord, I believe in you," the Lord would not have answered him the way he answered him. But he says, "What must I do to inherit eternal life"?
And now once you talk about your performance, the Lord will give you the law. He gave him the Ten Commandments. "You know what the Scripture says, Thou shall not commit adultery, don't bear false witness, don't kill". And the young man said, "All this, Lord, all this I've kept from my youth up". The Bible says the Lord loved him; the Lord looked at him and says, "One thing you lack". And always remember this, people: when you boast in the law, when you boast in your performance, the Lord will always tell you, "One thing you lack". The law was designed to bring out your lack, not to bring out your strength. "Go sell all that you have and give to the poor".
Now, he's the only one Jesus said that to. It was a test. It wasn't the Lord wants everyone to give up everything they have. No, no, it was just for this rich young ruler Jesus says, "Go sell all you have and give to the poor and come follow me". And if you know the Scriptures, the Scriptures says, "He that has pity upon the poor lendeth to the Lord, and that which he has given, the Lord will repay". So even then, the Lord will repay him. But it was only for him because he boasted, and the Bible says that he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions, or you can say great possessions had him. He was a poor, rich man. The Bible tells us if you boast in the law, you boast in your performance, the Lord will always give you the law. And then notice the flattery, "Good Master". And the Lord answered him, "Why do you call me good? There is none good, but God".
Now, people start thinking, "Well, Pastor Prince, you see, Jesus himself said he's not perfect". No, no, no, no, Jesus is telling him, Jesus always goes right to the core of the matter, to the root of things. He's saying, "Do you believe I am God? There is none good, but God. If you are calling me Good Master, you must acknowledge I am God. If you acknowledge I am God, let me be God. Recline in my love, rest in my goodness, and stop your performance". Are you listening, people? Because in the next chapter, the Bible tells us that Jesus walked into Jericho, the city of the curse. The Bible says on the tree, there was a very short man called Zacchaeus. And Jesus said, "Zacchaeus, come down. I must come to your house tonight. I must eat at your house". And he was a tax collector.
To be a tax collector is like betraying your own nation because at that time, they were under the Romans. And the Romans hired this man, obviously he's well paid, plus the fact that he would oppress the people, you know, with certain threats, getting more on the side. And the nation hates tax collectors. They are Jewish people, yet they have, in a sense, betrayed their nation. They are good with mathematics. They are good with, you know, one tax collector called Matthew, Jesus walked by him and Jesus says, "Follow me". Matthew left everything. He was a tax collector. He left everything and followed Jesus. Later on, God would use him to write the first Gospel of Matthew. And you notice the way he writes Jesus's genealogy, he will say from Abraham all the way down to David, all right, is this number of generations.
Then from here to here is this number of generations. Then from here to here, it's this number of generations. It's almost like he's doing, like, all right, collecting all the coins, then put one side, collecting all the coins, put one side. You know, God uses people who are precise to write the Bible. Three-fourths of the New Testament is written by a Pharisee of Pharisees, someone who is self-righteous, someone who is steep into religion, someone who believe, like the rich young ruler, his performance is what matters, not God's grace. And here, Jesus walked into Jericho and Jesus says, "Zacchaeus," he called him by name. "Come down, I must eat at your house". No laws were given.
And the Bible says the people started whispering amongst themself that he's gone to eat with sinners. "A sinner, has gone to his house, can you believe it? The Messiah, the Savior, he claims to be the Messiah and he's gone to eat with someone who is a betrayer of our nation". At the end of that dinner, no laws were given. Jesus stood up and Jesus said... now, right after Zacchaeus stood up first and said, "You know, Lord, whoever I've cheated, I'll restore to them four times over. And if I have done anything wrong, I will make it right and half my goods, I give to the poor". Jesus looked at him and Jesus smiled and says, "Salvation is come to this house".
Now, he didn't give it up to get saved. He didn't restore. He didn't set things right to be right with God. It was because Jesus came to him, salvation came to him first, that the goodness of God led him to repentance. Can I have a good amen? So people want you to preach on repentance all the time, but the thing is this: if you preach the goodness of God, the goodness of God will lead people to repentance. Can I have a good amen? Granted, in the Old Testament, you repent first before God blesses you, but Jesus came and he brought grace. Grace is, "I'm gonna bless you if you will trust me, if you will come to me, amen, depend on me. I'm gonna bless you, and if there's any problems in your life, the goodness of God will lead you to repentance".
So, for the rich young ruler, God gave the law, he can hardly give a penny or a dinar in those days. But Zacchaeus, no laws were given, only grace. The Bible tells us everything about his life was open to the Lord, his wallet, which is a very sensitive area, all right, his family, his house, everything was open. And guess what? With this openness, in came salvation. Hallelujah. And I wonder sometimes that people will preach against this wonderful gospel, that there are those who will undermine this beautiful gospel by telling people that this is heresy, that this news is heresy. And the amazing thing is that they don't even compare Scripture with Scripture.
What I gave you was rich young ruler, Luke 18, and the Zacchaeus, Luke 19. And you know the story didn't happen chronologically, but it's put side by side by the Holy Spirit who wrote the Scriptures to illustrate a lesson. And the lesson is that what the law cannot produce in the rich young ruler, grace produced in Zacchaeus. The law cannot bring results, but grace brought results. And it's amazing how people can come against grace. Friend, grace is not something that Pastor Prince started. I am not that smart. Thanks for that amen. That's true, amen? It's so wonderful, it must have come from heaven.
You know, it's important that we understand there's, again, a new tide of opposition coming against the message of grace. I don't like to call it a message because it's not the message, it's the gospel. And then people are coming against it really strong, but I'm gonna throw it out there for you because there's a whole move right now on the earth, okay? And I thank God for that. I don't claim to be the one that started this move, no way, amen. I believe it's the Holy Spirit's work. But there's now such a great move of the Holy Spirit that pastors by the multitudes in America, in Europe, Pastor Benjamin just came back from Switzerland, and he will tell you the pastors there are on fire. They have a vision now.
Many pastors who have given up the pulpit now have a fresh vision. Many who do not know what to preach anymore in the pulpit, now they realize that they are killing their people slowly with the law. And now they're preaching grace and people are coming alive. So, but there's this idea that people are trying to promote that when you preach that you are delivered from the law, that means you are telling people that they can go ahead and sin. Now, is that the belief of the early church? Is that what was taught in the raw, pure, unadulterated gospel that was given to the apostle Paul? Is that what is taught? So I'm gonna share on that today, all right, because it's gonna be like a refresher course for those of you who have been here for some time. But every time I teach on this, there's fresh insight, there's powerful liberation. Get ready to be delivered. You're about to reign in life over your bad habits, your addictions, amen. Whatever it is that's binding you, you're about to reign.
Now, why is it that this one verse is not being preached as it should be? You have thought, I'm about to show you a verse. If I show you that verse, you will start thinking, man, you know, people ought to preach on this verse even more. It's so obvious that this verse gives you the secret of overcoming. And it's Romans 6, verse 14. The Bible tells us, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for," reason, for, the cause is given. "For you are not under law but under grace". How in the world can we ever say that if you preach grace, you are telling people they can go ahead and sin? Where do you think this reasoning, which I believe is from the devil, came in? What do you think this reasoning is trying to stop the people of God from trying to enjoy, experience? Their liberty in Christ.
Now listen, read this verse. Logic, human logic will tell us, "For sin shall not have dominion over you because you are not under grace, but under law," isn't it? When you give people the Ten Commandments, you are helping them to be holy, amen? This church is so smart. Look at that, not a single amen. Now think. I'm talking about human logic, okay? I know you're well taught, I know that. You don't have to impress me. I'm talking about human logic, human logic, all right? If you say, "Sin shall not have dominion over you because you are taught the law," you are under law. You are conscious of the law more than the guy in the street. Isn't this reasonable? But that's not what the Bible says.
And it's amazing that people who are looking for freedom from sin, all right, freedom from addictions, freedom from bad habits, they are trying to do it by their performance, by trying to keep the law, a set of rules. And yet, the Scripture says it's when you are under grace, sin shall not have dominion over you. And this word "sin" in the Greek is a noun, people, place, thing. It's not just an action of sin. It's the noun that causes the actions. So you can actually put this down here. Everything that came from sin, even the author of it, Satan, shall not have dominion over you when you are under grace and not under law. So the devil is so afraid of this message because most of the church world think that the more you teach the Ten Commandments, the more people become holy. It is logical. And yet, that's not what the Bible says.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 56, "The sting of death is sin". God never meant for men to die. God never made for man to grow old, decay, suffer sickness, disease, and then die. That's not created in his image. He doesn't die. He's deathless. And God is not old, by the way. God is forever young. Growing old is part of the curse. The wages of sin is death. So when God made man, death is not part of his plan. In fact, God calls death an enemy. But Adam sinned against God. I know some of you are thinking, "Well, if God knows everything, why did God, you know, allow Adam to sin"? You see, foreknowledge doesn't mean, okay, control for control. Foreknowledge means God knows everything before it happens. But if God knows everything before it happens and God gave man free choice and then God manipulates his free choice because God foreknows, that is actually a violation of that man's free choice.
Don't say you gave someone free choice. God doesn't want robots to worship Him, so God made man in his image with a free will, all right? And by his own violation, he can obey or not obey or, you know, just do whatever he wants. But when you give someone a free choice, free choice is free choice or else it's not free. So because of that, God honored man's free choice, and man chose to commit high treason, bow his knee to Satan, obey Satan instead of obeying God, man is faced with a consequence. Are you listening? So some people have reasoning, "Pastor Prince, why don't God just stop Adam from sinning"? You know, it's almost like his hand is about to touch that fruit and God hold his hand and God made his hand into a slap. Say, "What happened, God"? "Well, I had to violate your free choice".
God cannot do that, people. If God did that, might as well he make robots. So, the Bible says when man sinned, he opened the door to sin, in came in sickness, in came in disease, poverty. Yes, poverty is evil. You don't know until you go to some places in the world, then you realize money is not the root of all evil, the love of it is the root. So poverty is evil. It makes people give up their daughters for prostitution. It makes people steal. It makes people covet. So poverty is evil. But on the other hand, I'm not saying God wants you to prosper to the point that you are so inundated with wealth, you don't know what to do. No, prosperity with a purpose. That's what God has for you. Can I have a good amen? Because in heaven one day, you got a problem with prosperity, you will have to adjust to walking on the streets of gold.
You know, tell God, "God, can I just advise you to change the gold a little bit? It's too bright". You know, so, you know, for me, heaven is heaven because of Jesus, our Lord Jesus is there. Heaven is not heaven without our Lord Jesus, it's not the perfect environment, the beautiful environment. When you pluck a flower, another flower is there. Nothing decays, nothing dies in heaven. All right, is not that. It is him. Can I have a good amen? Why is it that we cannot understand the strength, the sting of death is sin? So, what brought death? Sin. What strengthened sin? So we are going backwards now. Death, all right, came into mankind because the Bible says Adam sinned. What is the sting of death? What brought death? The Bible says sin. What strengthens sin? The law. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You don't hear that preached often.
By the way, the word "strength" is dunamis in the Greek where you get the word "dynamite". The dynamite, the power of sin, is the law. So everyone that preaches that we are not under law but under grace is preaching freedom from the power of sin. Now, freedom from the power of sin does not mean you are not under no control, because when you are not under law, you're under grace. And I told you just now, like Zacchaeus was under grace, the rich young ruler wasn't under grace. There was no fruit in his life but Zacchaeus' fruits are amazing. That's what happens when you are under grace. I am not saying free people from the law and not put them under grace, I'm saying you are under grace, and grace is a better teacher than the law ever can be, amen?
All right, so let's go to Romans 7 right now. Praise God. Romans chapter 7. The apostle Paul's gonna reason. So Romans 6:14 once again. Romans 6:14, "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under law but under grace". Now, this is Romans chapter 6. You'd have thought that Paul made his point, right, in Romans chapter 6. But Paul says no, this verse deserves a whole chapter. So in the next chapter, Romans 7, which we are looking now, Paul brings up the truths of this verse, okay? "Or do you not know, brethren", first he illustrate. See you can follow this illustration. "Do you not know, brethren, (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband".
All right, agreed, agree? The law has dominion over a woman. As long as she is married, she cannot leave the husband and have a relationship with another man, because if she does that, next verse tells us, "So then if while her husband lives, she marries another man, while her husband lives, if she marries another man, she'll be called an adulteress". This is not deep, right? Is it too deep for early Sunday morning? All right, we understand this. The apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, is giving this illustration. "But if her husband dies, she is free from that law," agree? Can she marry after husband dies provided she didn't have a helping hand to her husband dying? All right, her husband dies, she is free from that law. Am I right? Okay. "So that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man". Is this clear so far?
Now, I'm gonna tell you what the Jewish people believe, because to them, God gave the Ten Commandments, all right? For some reason, the non-Jews, the Gentile nations, have adopted the Ten Commandments, which was never designed for them. It was designed for the Jews. So nonetheless, the Bible does say that the Ten Commandments are actually written in the conscience of every man that is alive. It's just an outward form. All right, we all know what's right, we all know what's wrong. We all know murder is wrong. We know adultery is wrong. We know robbery, stealing is wrong, amen? We all know that. But God gave the law for one purpose... I should not say for one purpose. There are a number of purposes, but one of the main purpose is this that people have misconstrued, is that they think that God gave the law for man to keep.
Now, I'm talking about personal walk with God, personal justification. There are those who teach that we are not saved by keeping the law. Many teach that, but then we are sanctified by keeping the law. This is very prevalent, all right, in the body of Christ. Now, is that true? Well, we just read everything that's written, Romans 6:14. 1 Corinthians 15, "The strength of sin is the law". It's all written to the church. And Paul is telling them how to walk with God, how to walk in holiness, how to walk in productivity, how to walk in freedom from addictions, from sin. Are you listening, people? He's telling us that you're not only justified without the law by grace, you are also sanctified, or made holy. That word "sanctified" means made holy, not by your performance, but by grace. Not by trying to keep the Ten Commandments, okay?
So the Jewish people believed that when God gave the law to Israel on Mount Sinai, God married Israel. Mount Sinai becomes the chuppah, and the Jewish word "chuppah" is like a marriage tent. And God engaged them, okay? And the terms of the marriage is the Ten Commandments, and God is saying, "If you do your part, I'm gonna do my part. If you don't do your part, I won't do my part". A lot of people think that Christianity is still this. Now one thing you need to understand is that God gave the law at Mount Sinai. God never gave the law when they were in bondage in Egypt, okay? God brought them out, how? By them keeping the law? No, they were people who were, some of them were worshiping idols. Some of them forgot God. Some of them didn't even care about God. Even though they forgot God, God never forgot them. And always remember this: You may forget God; God will never forget you.
And God remembered his covenant with their forefathers, all right, actually three, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, but it's the forefathers. That is a bad joke, I know. But when God brought them out of Egypt, all right, God brought them out not by their goodness. By his goodness. Because when God brought them out, the Ten Commandments was not yet given. So, you know how they came out? By the blood of the Lamb of the Passover. Well, in the first Passover, all right, not the New Year, but the Passover, the first Passover, the blood of the lamb was shed, okay? Through the blood of the lamb, the very next day, freedom came to the slaves of Egypt which is Israel. God brought them out with a mighty hand, and the Bible says, all right, when God brought them out, they were still murmuring and complaining, God never even killed one of them. I said, "Not even one of them died". "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law".
When God brought them out, okay, people, it was nothing based on them. It was based on the Abrahamic covenant that God made with their father Abraham 400-over years ago. And it's not based on their goodness. So when they complained, not a single one died. Remember later on, after the Ten Commandments was given, when they complained, they died. When they complained, they died. When they murmured, they died. So what happened down here is the same sin. How many know murmuring and complaining is sin? How many know complaining is sin, especially complaining when your pastor is preaching, all right? Or about his sermon during lunch time. It's big sin, bro, all right? But murmuring and complaining is sin, all right?
God doesn't grade on sin. Sin is sin. The thing is this. When that sin was committed after, post-Sinai, post-Ten Commandments, they died. But over here, when God brought them out and they complained, they told Moses, "Have you brought us out here to die"? God opened up the sea. On the other side, they were okay for three days and then they were thirsty, all right, and the bitter waters of Mara. They complained again. What did God do? God sweetened the bitter waters of Mara by throwing in the tree, the cross. And then after that, they were hungry and they complained again. Not a single time did God ever say, all right, I'm displeased with them, I'm gonna punish them. Those who complained will die as a lesson for all the rest of them. Not a single one died.
Many years ago, when God spoke this to me, and today it's preached all over the world I think. But the thing is this: it came to me as a revelation. God said this to me: "Not a single one died from Egypt to Sinai". And God said, "Study this period. It's a picture of pure grace". The church has missed it. You know why, people? They came all the way to Mount Sinai, not a single one died. They were complaining every step of the way. And God intervened. It seems like fresh murmurings brought fresh demonstrations of grace, fresh provisions. Where sin increase, grace super-abounds. If they had kept under God's grace and sensed it, the goodness of God will lead them to repentance. But something happened at Mount Sinai.
At Mount Sinai, when they were at the mountain, they actually proposed to God, even before they heard the terms of the contract or the covenant. No one signs something, all right, not hearing the terms or understanding the terms. They literally said before God gave the Ten Commandments, you know what they said to Moses? "Moses, you know, why not you tell God to give us all the commandments"? In essence, I'm gonna quote to you the Hebrew, "Kol asher diber". That means, kol, everything that God says dabar, diber, plural. Kol diber, "kol asher diber Adonai na'aseh," means, "We can do it. Whatever God tells us, we can do it. C'mon, bring it on. What must I do to inherit eternal life? What must I do to be holy? What must I do to be intimate with God? I can do it".
So, of course, God in his plan would bring in the law to bring man to the end of himself. It was never meant for man to be justified by. It was meant to bring man to the end of himself. Are you listening, people? Now, I'm not talking about the law outwardly. Thank God that advanced civilized nations today is based on Judeo-Christian principles. They observe the Ten Commandments outwardly. Outwardly, I said. But inwardly, are they coveting? Inwardly, are they hating? Inwardly, so as long it's outward, they would do it because of fear of punishment. But God is not interested in our modification. God is interested in heart transformation, okay? I'm talking about that, people.
So the Bible says that this period of pure grace, not a single one died. So they boasted: "You know, God, we are doing well". Yeah, I can see how well, as a slave in Egypt. They said, "God, whatever you can command us, na'aseh, we can do it". It's an emphatic Hebrew, "Yes, we can do it. We will do it". And the Bible says: "Suddenly, God changed his terms and God backed away". For the first time, God was with them and God brought them out of Egypt in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the enemies came against them, as they were crossing the Red Sea, God, in a pillar of fire, went behind them and protected their rear guard, amen, until they all crossed clean over. And then, the presence of God in the pillar of fire went ahead of them to lead them the way.
When the enemies chased after them, God closed the Red Sea over them. This is how good God is. God was so close to them in a pillar of fire, leading them, in a pillar of cloud by day to protect them from the elements, from the hot scorching sun. They literally had air conditioning in the wilderness. God came so close, but the moment they boasted in their performance, people, God says, "Moses, tell them, 'Don't come near.'". If you boast in your performance, your abilities, your law-keeping, then don't come near. And that was in essence, God is saying, "I brought you out, not based on your goodness, based on my goodness. I brought you out, not based on your faithfulness; on my faithfulness, amen? On my grace, people". Instead of saying, "God, grace brought us out. Let your grace bring us home. Bring us to the Promised Land".
If only they had said that, but they didn't. Today, the same thing: believers are saying the same thing, in essence: "Lord, you know, don't just bless me because, you know, your grace or not. Grace is wonderful, you know, it's wonderful, but Lord, I'm doing this, Lord. I'm doing that, Lord. I'm doing this, Lord". No, friend, don't misunderstand, we are involved in a lot of good works, all right? But good works and dead works are two different things. Good works is a result of the life of Christ inside. Dead works is something you try to do to obtain right standing with God. You see, you don't come to church to be right with God. But when you are right with God, you want to come to church. You don't listen to a sermon because you have to listen to the sermon. No, eh? You listen to a sermon because you enjoy feeding on the Word of God, receiving the wisdom of God, and you don't want it to stop.
Okay, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, The three of you. I'll take it on behalf... never mind, praise God. That's the reason. You know, when you don't read your Bible, you should not be feeling guilty. You should be feeling hungry, amen? So here, God is saying, "I brought you out because of my goodness, not your goodness. Don't forget where you came from. Don't forget you were murmuring every step of the way". And yet, the gumption, the audacity, at the foot of Mount Sinai to say, "All that you command us, we can do it," even before God gave the Ten Commandments. Then God says, "Okay, Moses, tell them if they want me to bless them based on their goodness, based on their obedience, based on their law-keeping, these are the ten. 'Thou shall not, thou shall not'".
Notice the focus is no more on God's goodness, God's faithfulness. It's now on man's faithfulness, man's goodness, man's obedience. "You shall not, you shall not, you shall not, you shall not". Now, you cannot have your cake and eat it. How many understand? Once you agree to a new covenant, at that time it was a... Today we call it old covenant, but it was a covenant nonetheless at the time. They entered into the Sinaitic covenant with God. In other words, "don't treat us based on your goodness. Treat us based on our goodness". Proud. That's pride, man. Right after that, when man sinned against God, what happened? C'mon, when they murmured, same sin before Sinai. When they murmured now, what happened when they sinned? Judgment came. They died for the first time. Are you with me, people? And yet there are leaders, there are pastors, and I pray that you're not one of them, if you're watching, they are still teaching the Ten Commandments, putting people under the ministry of death.
Let me show you this in 2 Corinthians. We'll leave Romans 7 for a while. We'll come back to it. Look at verse 7. Verse 6 first: "God made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant," not old covenant. New covenant, the covenant of grace. Say "Amen". "Not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life". There is a teaching going on that says that you've got to watch out about the letter of Scripture, because the letter of Scripture kills. People, that's a dangerous thing to say. The context here is talking about the law and spirit is grace.
When God gave the law on Mount Sinai, you know what happened? The Bible tells us, albeit 40 days after the Lord God gave the law, 3000 people died at the foot of the mountain. The letter, which is the letter of the Ten Commandments God wrote with his finger on stone, the letter kills. Three thousand people died, okay? Now, on the Day of Pentecost, by the way, that's the first Pentecost at Mount Sinai. Jewish people will tell you that's their first Shavuot, their first Pentecost. In the New Testament when the Day of Pentecost came, the church was in the Upper Room, the Holy Spirit filled them all up, amen, and the Bible tells us that 3000 people were saved. So the letter is the law. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
And I venture to tell you this, people, that the next verse says: "If the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones," it's called the ministry of death. Ten Commandments, if you preach it, you're a minister of death. You are throwing death all around. No wonder the body of Christ is sick, hm, sick. I've got to renew my youth, so. And it's amazing that in the body of Christ, some of the most unhappiest people, the most guilt-ridden people, are people in church. The most sick people, even, many of them are in church. I have a friend now who is a pastor in Holland, Pastor Marcel. Before he was saved, he was a DJ, quite a well-known DJ in a well-known nightplace, okay? And he said he slept late, slept only a few hours, he was famous, he was known, and he says that he would play the music, have the attention of all the women, you know? And he said that he was cool and all that.
But one thing he said he didn't have. He was free from stress. And he was quite healthy, but lost, lah. But he was relatively healthy, he said. But the moment he got saved, and then he started receiving teachings, "You must, you must, you must, you must, you must, you must, you must," the focus on you, not on God. The focus on you is not on Christ. He said the moment he had that, he had stress, he had problems with sleeping. Now, believers, what is the problem? Jesus says, "I came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly".
If the world can be healthy, we ought to be super-healthy. If the world is, you know, the world is experiencing a certain amount of peace, somewhat, we should have peace within and peace without, c'mon, even when things go wrong. And God didn't exempt us from bad circumstances and bad events, or whatever, but God does say, "You will have peace in the midst of the storm, a peace that passes all understanding". So why is that so? Because we still think that our standing with God is based on our performance. So if there's anyone here today, you are not conscious that you are keeping the law, but you are conscious you're falling short. You feel like God is not pleased with you. And if I ask you why, you say, "Because I did this yesterday," or "I did that yesterday," or "I didn't do this that I'm supposed to do," or "I've not read my Bible enough," or "I've not done that".
I'm telling you, you are under law. Even if you have been listening to the message for some time, effectively, you are under law the moment you are self-occupied and not Christ-occupied. The moment you are self-occupied, you are under law. If you are Christ-occupied, you're under grace. Can I have a good "Amen," people? So, the law demands, like I said before, the law demands, one way to define very easily: the law demands, grace supplies. Under law, God demands righteousness from men. Under grace, God supplies righteousness as a gift. Under law, God demands holiness from men. Under grace, God supplies holiness to men. So, if God supplies and he's no longer demanding from us, he's supplying to us, why can we not live holy lives, powerful lives, overcoming lives, abundant lives? Because he's supplying. If he's supplying men, and I'm not supplying myself, if I supply myself, it's meager, it is weak, it is pathetic. But if God supplies, have you seen God's supply?
When God blessed the 5000 men, all right, with bread and fishes, not counting the women and all that, probably 15,000, the Bible says there were 12 buckets full left over. And the supply only stopped when man said, "Enough". Because the Bible says he supplied them as much as they would. They limited the supply. If God supplies, it is supplied. I'm not talking about money alone, people. I'm talking about more than that, about your spiritual life, what is holiness, overcoming addictions, all right? We've got testimonies of people who are into drugs and smoking and all that. The moment they stop trying, stop struggling, it's against the grain and logic of this world, but the moment they stop and they say, "Lord, I trust you, Lord. It's your grace," bang, the deliverance comes. Are you with me, so far?
So the law demands righteousness from sinfully bankrupt men. Grace supplies the gift of righteousness to be received. So your life becomes a life of thanksgiving. Your life becomes a life of rest. There's something about our human nature, this propensity to performance. We really think that the more we perform, the more God is pleased. I'll tell you this, in the new covenant, the more you rest in what his Son has done, the more he's pleased with you. When Jesus cried, "It is finished," at the cross, people, it is finished. If you are trying to finish what he finished, are you the Messiah? Okay, the first miracle of the law, Moses, the Bible says the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The law was given by a servant of God, but grace and truth came by the Son of God.
The first miracle of Moses was turning water into blood, resulting in death. The first miracle of grace, Jesus turned water into wine. If you say, "Well, Pastor Prince, you know, you don't understand, Pastor Prince, ha, ha, ha, Pastor Prince, you probably have not heard ceremonial law. You know ceremonial law, killing of animals in the Old Testament, in Leviticus and all that, that's what we are not under. When the Bible says we're not under law, it is not referring to the Ten Commandments, it's referring to the fact that we are actually under grace because we are no more under the killing of animals, you know, what I'm saying, Pastor Prince? You understand ceremonial law"?
Who are you to categorize and separate what God has joined together? For God, law is the Ten Commandments, ceremonial and moral. They stand as a composite whole. Who are you to divide what God has joined together? And the further proof to tell you it's not referring to ceremonial law, is this verse: "The ministry of death, written and engraved on stones". The only part of the law that is engraved on stones, written with the finger of God, are the Ten Commandments. The ceremonial law was never written on stones. So when the Bible says we are not under the letter that kills, it's referring to the handwritten commandments of God. "Pastor Prince, how can God give us commandments that kill"? People, listen, the law is perfect. Nothing wrong with the law. This woman was married.
Go back to Romans 7. This woman was married to a man who is perfect. And because he's perfect, whenever she's unclean, he cannot bend to help her. You understand? Because the law says if you touch someone unclean, and you are clean, you touch the defiled, you become defiled. There's one absurd verse in the Bible. The Bible says that the Pharisees, who are "lawkeepers," they brought Jesus when they captured Jesus, actually, they didn't capture Jesus. Jesus allowed himself to be captured. They brought him to the high priest's courtyard and the Bible says they refused to go... no, to Pilate's courtyard. They refused to go in because "lest they defile themself," and cannot eat the Passover. They can betray Jesus, all right, to the Romans. They can bribe someone, that's Judas, to sell Jesus, all right? They can beat him, spit on him, and do all kinds of humiliating things to him, and yet, they will not enter Pilate's hall because "lest they be defiled".
You turn Christianity into a religion, you become mean. And there are people, you know, when they are mean about people who are preaching grace, they are mean. They will curse you. So, this woman now, representing all of us, we are married to Mr. Law. Mr. Law is perfect. That's his problem. Mr. Law cannot touch you, "lest I be defiled. If I bend over, I'm no more inflexible". And law must be inflexible. Law must be perfect, unbending, inflexible. "Woman, my eggs must be nice every morning, just perfectly nice. My coffee or tea must not be too hot, all right, where it burns my tongue. It must be perfect or else you die". In essence, you cannot keep the law without the consequence. If you don't perform everything in the law, all right, the Bible says judgment is coming your way. That's the law. If you're under law, you cannot avoid the judgment. You cannot avoid the condemnation. The Bible says in James, if you offend in one point of the Ten Commandments, you are guilty of all.
So if you are under law, make sure you keep the law perfectly. So she's married to Mr. Law. What a horrible life. Nothing wrong with him, you understand or not? The problem with him is he's perfect. And one day, she's out there, singing a sad song, behind a tree, and a guy... I'm sorry, I watch too many Hindi movies, all right? A guy is running through the field. He hears, "Eh- hey, ah- hah, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, ah-hah-hah, hah, mm-hmm". Okay, anyway, you know how Hindi movies go, right? I watched some of these shows when I was young. Anyway, they fell in love. But she's married. Now, the thing about this new lover is that he's perfect. He is no less perfect, actually, than the law that he gave, of course. He is perfect. She's in love with him.
The thing about him is that whatever he demands from her, he does for her. He cooks that egg perfectly, and makes her eat. He prepares the drink perfectly. Everything he does is perfect for her. Now, she wants to marry him, but if she marries him, is she an adulteress, regardless of the, "Hah-hah"? Okay, am I right? C'mon, people, talk to me. Is that adultery? Yes, it's adultery. So what happens is this. The husband cannot die. Mr. Law cannot die. God's commands is forever, like God. God is eternal, his demands never change. God still demands what he demands. But men cannot keep, the perfection itself is what is the problem. Jesus came and readjusted the Pharisees' ideas of the Ten Commandments. He says that you think it's jumping into a bed physically with a woman. No, if you undress her in your mind, you have committed adultery.
What did Jesus do? He bring everyone to despair. So that everyone will say, "We need a Savior". That's the purpose of the law, to bring you to the end of yourself. When Jesus gave the law to the rich young ruler, he came to the end of himself. So, Mr. Law cannot die. He's perfect forever. So guess what? Just imagine for a moment this false logic. What if the woman dies? Just imagine if the woman dies. It's possible for the woman to die and then be resurrected. Is she free from her husband? People, think. If she dies and then she's resurrected, is it possible? All right, all right. Romeo and Juliet drink a potion, all right? Your heart stopped beating for a while. Okay? And then they sign the divorce, whatever, the papers. You are no more, okay? Everything is annulled. So, the things that... then you are raised from the dead. Is she under? No, she's dead. Death has annulled.
Now, in essence, Jesus' death and resurrection is for the woman, and the woman is you and I. So, how will she die? One of the reasons for the cross, it's not just to carry all the sins of the world upon himself, okay? But also to provide a death by which we are free from the law to marry Jesus, our Lord, the perfect one, so that today he's in us, and his demands are no less, amen. You know, his holiness is perfect. Come on. But the thing is this. We are not the ones doing it. We are resting in him, and he does it. She just leans on him. And Jesus is such that when grace came, the law says don't touch the unclean or else you'll be unclean. But grace, when grace came down the mountain, Jesus came down the mountain, leper came to Jesus and said, "If you're willing, you can make me clean".
During that day and age, if a rabbi touches a leper, the rabbi is unclean and has to be sprinkled with ashes of the red heifer, the offering of the temple. Okay? But Jesus is no ordinary rabbi. Amen, come on, people. You know, the law says don't touch, don't go, don't, don't, you know, there's a law. But grace is aggressive. Grace moves amongst sinners, and grace still maintains holiness and purity. So, when he touched the leper. The leper caught what he had, and the leper was cleansed. Jesus is healthy. He touched the leper. The leper became clean. In other words, under law, sin is contagious. Under grace, life, health is contagious. If we pastors and leaders, if we put our people under law, no wonder they're sick. No wonder they are depressed. No wonder they are addicted.
So, the Bible says if a husband dies, she's free from the law. But we know the husband is Mr. Law. Mr. Law cannot die. So guess what? Next verse. "Therefore, my brethren", now he's talking to us direct. No more illustration. He comes straight to the point, "you also," you the woman in this story, "you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ". If your husband, Mr. Law, cannot die, you can die. And Jesus, on the cross, provided that death for all of us. So, we are dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, to him who was raised from the dead. And what is the result? That we should bear fruit to God.
When this woman was married to Mr. Law, there were no babies. How? How to have babies? Let alone, there is no intimacy. He's not willing to touch her because she's unclean. The amazing thing about grace is that Jesus comes so close to us, and everyone that touch him, when they are sick, or they are oppressed, unclean, whatever, all receive grace, all. Come on, church. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. The law demands, grace supplies. So, even right now, as a pastor, for pastors and leaders, when you are preaching, you are teaching, are you demand conscious? God demands this of me. God demands that. God demands. Or are you supply conscious? If you are supply conscious, you know that God will give you the words and the illustration as you speak.
So, even though I'm working outwardly, but inwardly, I'm resting. And sometimes, you know, the supply comes so much that I cannot preach in one sermon, and you all suffer, you know. So, I'll try to bring this to a close. Okay, people? All right, are you with me so far? So, in other words, "my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ at the cross". He provided a death for all of us so that legally we don't have, we are no more under law. We are not obliged to the law. We are delivered. I'm getting ahead of myself, but notice we are dead to the law. You know what's dead to the law? Dead means what? Cut off. There's no more demands. By the way, the law is like a mirror, you know. The mirror is always faithful, nothing wrong with the mirror. The mirror is faithful, the mirror is true, the mirror is inflexible.
So, when you look at the mirror, and the mirror say ugly, you don't blame the mirror. You don't break the mirror. Look at the way it says. We're not just married to the Jesus, the lowly Jesus, when he hid his glory as a man, walked among the poor, the needy, the oppressed, the downcast, the despised of society, the social outcast, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and healed them, restored them, blessed them. We're not married to that part of Jesus when he was on earth. We are married to Jesus when he was raised from the dead. You know what that means? The one who's glorified with all authority, glory, and power. That's who we are married to. If you were poor, you are no longer poor. If you were weak, you are no longer weak. But remember this. In and of ourself, we are weak, but we are now married.
You see, my wife, for example, when she goes shopping, all right, she don't go in her power. She has a card that she uses that depends on my name and my resources. You understand? I always remind her of that. I say, aren't you glad you married me? But she's a good spender. She is, she is really, she know how to get bargains. But the thing is this. She goes in the authority of my name. And it all depends on how much power there is in my name, how much wealth I have. How much wealth do you reckon Jesus have? When we pray for people and say, "In the name of Jesus," it's no more you. It's not about how strong you are, how powerful, how anointed you are, whether you prayed seven hours a day, whether you fasted last night. It's not a matter of you. It's a matter of him. It's the power of attorney.
So, this woman is married to the one who is raised from the dead. That's you and I, all right? "For when we were in the flesh". Now, remember those days when "you were in the flesh. The sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death". People don't realize that those who teach those who preach law, they're antinomians. No, no. In fact, I am for the law for the reason God gave the law. So, antinomian are those who are anti, against nomos is law in Greek. Antinomians are those who are against the law. In other words, they are not preaching the truth. If God gave the law, not to justify or to sanctify men by, you must preach like God, what God said. Then you are not antinomian. But if you say men can keep the law, you are a true antinomian, because you are not preaching what God gave the law for. God gave the law to bring man to the end of himself. Are you listening, people?
All right. So notice here what arouses sinful passion. The sinful passions, when we were in the flesh, even today, as believers, after you are saved, the flesh is still the flesh, is still the flesh, is still the flesh. Don't forget that. Any of us can fall into adultery. Any of us can fall into sin. All right, the moment we miss looking at our husband, we miss spending time with him, and communing with him, we still can sin. The flesh is still the flesh until Jesus comes in the rapture. We'll no longer have that flesh, but a glorified body. And the flesh is not the body, but the sin principle in the body is still there. Do you understand? But it doesn't define you. It is not you. You are a new creation, but the flesh is still there. Okay?
Now, what arouses the sinful passions of our flesh. The sinful passion which were aroused by the law. Whoa. And then the result bear fruit to death. Verse 4, bear fruit to God. Here, bear fruit to death. Your flesh wants a law to arouse it. Let me just illustrate. Look up here, people. Okay. A glass of water with dirty sediments, all right? After you let it aside for one hour, all right, the sediments go down in the water, and the water looks clear. But it's settled down to your flesh. It is dead. The potential for any of us to be a murderer or whatever is there in the flesh, but it's not you. If I have a splinter in my finger, a wood, it's a wood. I am not wooden, but it's in my flesh. Do you understand, people? All right?
So, after the sediments have gone down, the water looks clear, but don't drink it. Why? There's still sediments there. Now, as long as the sediments are down there, people think they are okay. Many people, they don't feel a need to come to Jesus to be saved because "I'm kind of okay. I'm not a murderer. I'm not part of this group. I'm not part of that group. I don't kill people. I'm a decent guy. I take care of my family. You know what I'm saying? I'm an okay guy. I'm not perfect, but I'm an okay guy. You know what I'm saying"? They don't see their need for Jesus because all they have is outward. They are like that water, the sediments have settled. It looks clear, but it's dangerous for you to drink. So, God introduced the law, the silver spoon, stir. All right? The spoon, nothing wrong with the spoon. But when the spoon stirs the water, guess what? The sediments goes up.
Now, can you say the spoon produced the dirt? The spoon bring about the dirt. No, the dirt was already there, but the spoon, the law stirs it up. It's what this verse is saying. Are you listening, people? Like, if this auditorium was completely shut, no one is here, and you are the only one here, and there are different exit doors here, but one exit door says don't peek behind this door, strictly confidential. At first, nothing wrong with you. You know, you probably might go out through one door, but now you're looking at that door. No other door has that.
Notice, only this door, secret. Don't peek. Trespassers will be prosecuted, and nobody is here. So, you look around, and you're about to go through this door, but, mm, something is stirring. Why? There's a law. Do you understand that? Sometimes we ought to say no to our kid, I understand. But it's wiser and ask God for wisdom, how to say no without saying no. Sometimes give them a choice. Like, they don't want to eat, so you tell them, you want to eat porridge, or you want to eat banana? Actually, you don't say you'd better eat.
So, the thing is that parents, you know, we've gotta be careful that our parenting must be grace based. Come back to this again. Which door will arouse your sinful passion? That door. The strength of sin is the law. And for those of you who teach that God gave the law to produce holiness, what happened at Mount Sinai after God gave the Ten Commandments? Talk to me. What happened? Israel produced a golden calf. They broke the very first commandment, "You must have no other gods". The amazing thing is this. They produced it through the gold they received on the night they came out from the Egyptians, all their back pay for their years of slavery. All right?
Because the favor God gave them, it was the gold that they had when they crossed through the Red Sea. But they never were tempted to build a golden calf. They went through the three days in the desert, no temptation to build a golden calf. All the way to Mount Sinai, they had the gold, no temptation to build a golden calf. The moment the law was given, and the first law says you must have no other gods, bang. The next thing you know, after the law was given, there's a golden calf. So, I want to throw this to you. Does it produce holiness or the opposite? Next verse. "But now," I'm bringing this to a close, "we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by". People, you know what's delivered? Delivered is delivered. "We are delivered from the law". "Pastor Prince, again, this law is not the Ten Commandments".
Look at the context. Context is king. Look at the context. Drop to verse 7: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary," is the spoon sin? No, nothing wrong with the spoon, okay? But the spoon and the stirring of the flesh cannot go together. So here it says: "On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law". What law is this? Ceremonial? Wait. "For I would not have known covetousness," or lust, "unless the law had said, 'You shall not lust.'" So Paul is saying that last commandment got me. So the context is very clear. When it says we are delivered from the law, it's not ceremonial law. It is the Ten Commandments. Does that mean that today we can commit adultery, we can lie, you know, on our tax returns? No, "We are delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter".
Let me show you what it means, all right? We are delivered from the law, in other words, to follow the Spirit. I like the Amplified translation of this. The Amplified says on that part: "So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life]". In other words, I live by the prompting of the Spirit. The law says: "Don't commit adultery". That's all it says. But the Spirit says: "Today buy something special for your wife". The Spirit will say, "All right, don't just cross her in the living room. Stop for a while, touch her hand, and say, 'I love you,' and then go". Do it with style, touch, say, go. The Spirit of God will teach you things like that. So the law, "Thou shall not commit adultery".
Do you know you can keep the law outwardly and have no love for your spouse? There are those who don't commit adultery, but they have no love for their spouse. Is that holiness? Talk to me, pastors and leaders, those who teach against grace, tell me. Does that produce holiness? No, but when you follow the prompting of the Spirit, not only you don't commit adultery, it tells you the Spirit will never prompt you to divorce your spouse. It will never prompt you to kill someone, all right? But more than that, he prompts you, for example, you've got a problem with smoking, all right? And you ask the Lord to help you in this area. The Spirit may prompt you to change your lifestyle in another area. Maybe this is causing you stress that causes you to smoke. So the Spirit's amazing. When you obey this prompting of the Spirit, that leaf, that dry leaf falls off. Are you listening, people, amen?
In other words, we're not free from the law to do nothing or to rebel. No, we are free from the law through Christ's death so that we can obey the Holy Spirit. You're either governed by the law or you are led by the Spirit. You cannot have both, amen. So listen to the Spirit. Before you sign a contract, stop, listen to the Spirit. The many advice, get as many advice as you want. It's okay, no problem, but at the end, is there peace or a lack of it? Even if something seems good, you're about to execute it, is there peace? If there's no peace, stop. The Lord is leading you. And when the Lord is your shepherd, you will not lack. You're driving fast and the Spirit prompts you and say, "Slow down here. Slow down here. Slow down here".
Listen to the Spirit. In other words, when we are free from the law, the Spirit becomes active. When you're under law, you're saying, "I don't need the Holy Spirit, all right? I got the law". So it's saying, they're free from the law to obey the Spirit. Are you with me so far? Right, let's bring this to a close and verse 7, all right? "What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Certainly not"! Okay, next verse. We read this already, in verse 8: "But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire". An amazing statement that I don't understand why people don't preach more on this, is this: "Apart from the law sin was dead".
I tell you this verse is memorized in the corridors of hell or wherever the devil's not in hell yet, but wherever he is, you know? He's at his headquarters. He's teaching all his apprentice, "Remember, if you come with your silly pitchfork, in your red underwear, they already have Superman," the devil says, "make sure you come to them religiously. They will never guess it's you. Come to them, 'Do you want to please God? Do you really wanna please God? All right, you really wanna please God, all right, you must keep the commandments. Bring back the law,'" knowing full well the law will stir up the sinful passions. The law was designed, all right, to bring out men's sinfulness so that man will see his need for the Savior. But the devil knows that so he will try to reintroduce the law through law preachers and then you never guess what hit you.
All you know is that the joy you used to have when you got saved... when you got saved, they told you, "You don't have to do anything. You just trust God. Jesus did everything". You say, "Really? Jesus did everything"? "Yeah, yeah, man". After you got saved, they say, "By the way, you must do this, you gotta do this, and this, and this, and that". And after for a while, you try your best and you fail. You try your best, you fail. The joy all went off. Now, does that mean there's no instruction, exhortation, in New Testament? Oh, full of it. But the thing is that we rest and obey the Spirit in the performance of it. If the Spirit tells you "Rest this month, don't work so hard," you better obey. Or else the month after that you will have high blood pressure. Then things are, "God, where are you"? God say, "I was there inside you, prompting you".
So the thing is that when we follow the Spirit, don't say he's your shepherd when he's not effectively leading you. So whatever you are faced with right now in your life, whatever it is, children problem and all that, okay, even your prayer, the Lord will say, "Don't pray for this," "But he's rebellious. I'm praying against the rebellion". God say, "Don't pray against the rebellion. Pray that this fear he has in his school about what others think of him, pray that I remove that". He will teach you even what to pray, and then this problem falls off, that dead leaf. In everything, we must be led by the Spirit. And what hinders the flow of the Spirit is the law. You cannot be married to both. Christ is in you. You cannot, you know, be married to Mr. Law. "I can keep the law, I can keep the law". Then you fail, you go to Jesus, "Oh, Jesus, I failed. Forgive me, Lord Jesus". After that, you say, "I feel strong now. Mr. Law"? That's adultery. That's spiritual adultery.
Now you're married to Jesus alone, without the law. Are you with me, people? All right, we'll bring this to a close. "I was alive once without the law, when the commandment came, sin revived and I died". So demons memorize this verse. You better know that this verse is telling you clearly when the commandment came, sin revived. So in the corridors of Satan's headquarters, all the apprentice see this plaque on the wall, "How to revive sin: Introduce commandment". The devil won't come to you and say, "Hey, you know, adultery is okay. C'mon, adultery is all right. Nothing wrong with adultery". He won't come like that. He'll come to you and say, "Don't commit adultery. Don't commit it".
The more you think, "Don't commit adultery," the more, guess what? He's stirring your, "don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't," you know? Like, if you have a problem with looking at a woman and you start thinking, you know, thoughts you shouldn't have been thinking, so you get up in the mornings, "Lord, today I determine in the name of Jesus, willpower, brother. Willpower. In the name of Jesus, I will not lust after any woman. I will not lust after any woman. I will not look at any woman". You come out and you see a Scottish man wearing kilts pass by... How many understand, the very trying stirs up. It's not a life of rest. Christian life is a life of rest. The more you rest, the more God performs.
Don't think for one moment that the life of rest is an idle life, it's a lazy life. No one is more rested than Jesus Christ. In 3½ years, you study the Gospels, he was so cool. He's always at the right place at the right time. He has time, walking to raise Jairus's daughter who is dying. He has time to talk to the woman who was healed. He has time to go, all right, any place. He always has time. He moves in the rhythm of grace. He's always restful and yet, no one accomplished more than Jesus Christ in 3½ years. So the Christian life is a life of rest, and rest means he's active. When you work, he rests. When you rest, he works.
I wanna close with this wonderful testimony that came in recently from a lady from Ohio, USA. It really touched my heart, this testimony:
Over three years ago, I was diagnosed with a severe case of dyslexia. The doctors said I stopped learning in the 2nd grade...
The equivalent of Primary 2 in Singapore....and I have no ability to see mental pictures when reading. Growing up, I always knew that something was wrong with me because my only way of advancing through school from the 2nd grade onwards was to cheat. I'm ashamed of it but felt that I had no other choice. The kids in school made fun of me and called me dumb. After getting married and having four beautiful children...
It's a lady by the way....After getting married and having four beautiful children, I dreaded the day that they would see my disabilities, only to judge and reject me as the kids in school did.
So now she's afraid that her kids will see that, her four beautiful children.The fear drove me to join an intense therapy program. After six weeks, I was devastated to learn that I was not making any progress. I didn't have it in me to keep attending the sessions. Then my neighbor introduced me to Joseph Prince Ministries and the power of right believing in the gospel. Pastor Prince showed me how condemnation kills and how the law makes one's self-focus depressed and sick. He was absolutely right because I was suffering from all those effects. Since immersing myself in Pastor Prince's teachings of grace, speaking in tongues, partaking of the Holy Communion, and confessing verses of faith over my life, my mind and body have experienced supernatural healing. I have never felt so alive and mentally sound. Now, I can read the Bible and understand it. This is huge. The Lord has used Pastor Prince to help me see faith pictures of Jesus when I read the Word. These pictures are so beautiful, indescribable, and very detailed. All my fears and panic attacks are gone. I've also been able to help my teenagers with some of their history, science, and literature homework, which is a miracle. My once shattered marriage is now stronger than ever. My husband no longer experiences symptoms of an autoimmune disease he had for ten years, my eldest daughter was taking 21 pills a day to deal with multiple diseases, but she is now healthy and taking no pills. My other daughter's big warts on her knee which doctors said had to be surgically removed, dried up and fell off after she cursed the warts in the name of Jesus every day. Finally, my son, who had severe dyslexia, has jumped several grade levels in reading in the past two years. Now that my family and I understand and have experienced the power of right believing in God's grace, we are passionate about spreading the gospel of grace.
Ohio, hallelujah. Amen. "The commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death". Next verse, we'll close with this. "For sin, taking advantage, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me". Nothing wrong with the spoon, nothing wrong in God's law. The law is holy, but it cannot make you holy. The commandment is just; it cannot justify you. It's good; it cannot make you good, all right? It is just unbending. "Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not"! Did the spoon produce the dirt? No, it stirred up the dirt, all right? "Sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful," wow.
Imagine preaching the Ten Commandments as a series in the church. Sin will become exceedingly sinful. And that tells you why in the church sometimes some people don't commit certain sins, even before they were saved, that they are doing now, after they are saved. Something happened. They have been listening to something that causes them to look at themselves, focus on themself. Friend, it's nothing to do with us. It's all about Christ. Can I have a good "Amen"? It's not about us. It's about Christ. And on that cross, friend, God so loved us that he sent his Son to die for our sins on that cross. And when he died on that cross, not only he bore our sins so that a righteous holy God cannot just allow sin to enter heaven and God says, "You know, boys are boys, it's okay". No, if God does that, he's not just.
So God must have a just and righteous foundation to receive sinful men, and because of that, there must be the cross. When Christ hung on the cross, in essence, people, when he hung on the cross, it is the love of God paying ransom to the justice of God. Some people say paying ransom to the devil. The devil is not in the picture at all. Who cares about him? It's the love of God paying ransom to the justice of God, and it was the Father who sent the Son that this might be accomplished. And, friend, everything you need is at the cross. Even the death that you need, amen, is at the cross. The old you has died. The new you has come, amen?
Do you know how much God loves you today? God is no more judging you based on you and your performance. God is judging you based on Jesus Christ. It's now a question of how good Jesus is because the Bible says: "Now you are in Christ". What that means is that God will measure you based on how good Jesus is. God designed this to be so. So our performance, while it's upward stumbling, we are not perfect, but in God's eyes we are in Christ always perfect. And all the people said, "Amen, amen, amen".
Every head bowed, every eye closed, all across this place. Everywhere that's watching this, just bow your heads just for a moment, just for a moment. Remember this: There's a Savior who loved you and rose again from the dead for you so that you'll be married to him. You know what's marriage? Oneness. All that he is and all that he has is now who you are and what you have. Because at the cross, he took what you had. He took your sin and he gave you what he had, his righteousness with the Father.
At the cross, he took your depression, your condemnation, your guilt, and he gave you his peace. He gave you his rest. At the cross, he bore your diseases, gave you his health. At the cross, he cried for the first time, "My God, my God". It's always been "My Father" before. The first time he cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me"? So that you and I can say today, "My Father, why have you so blessed me"? That is love, friend. That is grace. And today a lost, dying world still thinks that Christianity is a religion. No, it's not a religion. It's not law-keeping. It's not men trying to reach God. It's God initiating, reaching down to men, loving men when we're still lost. He gave us his Son to die in our place.
With every head bowed, every eye closed, all across this place, if there is anyone here and everywhere that's watching now, God is reaching out to you and saying, "Be reconciled. Come home. Come home to my love. Come home to my embrace. Live dependent on me. Live a life of rest where I'll do the rest. Come, come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden," our Lord says, "and I'll give you rest". If that is you, wherever you are right now, pray this prayer with me right now from your heart. Say this from your heart:
Heavenly Father, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and you sent him, Father, to that cross as the divine substitute for me. He died my death. He was condemned in my place. He suffered my judgment. And all my iniquities, sins, transgressions, have all been forgiven, past, present, and future, at the cross. And on the third day, you raised Jesus from the dead as a declaration that all that Christ did you have received. Jesus Christ is my Lord. Thank you, Father, I'm truly greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved, in Jesus's name.
Praise God. Let's all stand to our feet, amen. Here comes the blessing. Praise the Lord. Never take a week for granted, amen. God wants, even today, God waits to be invited, amen, to intervene in the affairs of your life, so we call upon the Lord to secure our week. How about that? That is depending on him and not on your smarts, not on your performance. Lift up your hands all across this place.
This coming week, the Lord bless you with the blessings of Abraham and the blessings of Deuteronomy 28. The Lord bless you and keep you, preserve you, protect you from all harm and danger, from all the powers of darkness, from accidents, from diseases, from sicknesses, from the terminal illness. The Lord keep you and protect you and preserve you from all evil. The Lord put you at the right place at the right time and grant you great favor throughout this week, everywhere you go. And the Lord lift up his countenance because of what his Son has done and accomplished. Smile on you throughout this week, prosper your way, and grant you great, great peace, even the peace that Jesus had when he walked here below, in Jesus's name, and all the people said, "Amen".