Joseph Prince - Want Good Success? Depend On God's Grace!
This is an excerpt from: The Kairos Year Of Right Time, Right Place - Part 2
So we go to Genesis 24 because we shared last week about Genesis 24, Abraham's servant. It's a very beautiful story. You know that Genesis 22 is about the father's love for the son, the first mention of love in the Bible. I said last week every time the law of, there's a law of first mention, applies to any first mention of a subject in the Bible. There's something very significant for us to take note of, amen? Any time a subject is mentioned for the first time. Love, the first mention of love is Genesis 22. God told Abraham, "Take your son, your only son, the son that you love".
So the first love is father's love for the son, and the whole picture there is what? Abraham's love for Isaac, yes, but not just that. It's more than that. It's about the Father's love for the, His Son Jesus, amen? Amen? The father's love for his son, and how Isaac carried the wood on the back. Jesus carried the cross on the back. They went to, Isaac went to Mount Moriah. Mount Moriah, the highest place on Mount Moriah is Mount Calvary. It's the same range of mountain. Abraham, before he plunged, the Lord stopped him. And then he looked behind Mount Calvary. He saw a vision. That's why it's called Moriah. "Moriah" means, "I saw the Lord provide," all right? The word "seeing" is there. "Yireh," to see. The Lord will see.
I say, "I'll see to it," means I'll provide for you. The idea of providence is in the seeing. Abraham saw Jesus. That's why Jesus told the Pharisees, "Abraham rejoiced to see My day". They say, "You are not yet 50 years old. You've seen Abraham"? They missed it. He didn't say, "I saw Abraham," because the lesser see the greater. No, no, "Abraham saw Me. Abraham rejoiced to see My day. Before Abraham was, I am," amen? Okay, that is chapter 2, chapter 22 of Genesis, the love of the father for the son.
Second mention of love is Genesis 24, Abraham's servant, looking for a bride for the master's son. Who is his master? Who is the unnamed servant? Some people say Eliezer and all that, but over here he's not mentioned at all. Unnamed, why? The Holy Spirit has come, amen, to be the Executor of the father's business, amen? He's come to prepare a bride, and it's been going on for 2,000 years. And that's why this is the longest chapter, Genesis 24, in the entire book of Genesis. It's a picture of the Holy Spirit seeking for a bride for our, the Heavenly Isaac, our Lord Jesus. So the second mention of love is found in the very last verse of this long chapter, verse 67. "Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her".
Second mention in the Bible. First one is father's love for the son, second one is the son's love for his bride, Jesus' love for all of you. Focus on this love. Focus on this love. First you must know the Father's love for the Son, and that, you need to know that because the more higher your thoughts are about the Father's love for the Son, the more you feel love because the Father gave up His Son that He loved for you, amen? The Father loved the Son. I look at Justin, and you know, Justin just have to be Justin. Sometimes he's naughty but I still love him. I correct him but I still love him. And it's a small sampling. Your love for your son, small sampling of His love for His Son, amen? He gave up His Son for you because He loves you. And then His Son loves you.
It says, some places it says, we say Christ died for the world, yes, but there's also in the Bible in more than one place, "Christ gave Himself up for the church". He gave Himself for the church that He might cleanse her with the washing of the water of the Word. He gave Himself for the church. So church in God's mind is the most successful, powerful, many-gifted, many-membered, all right? It's not an organization. An eternal, I don't know what to use the word. "Organization" is not the right word. Community. It is not a building, but the devil wants to make it a building.
The idea of old, traditional, filled with boring people. Look at you. I can't imagine how they can say that you are boring, amen? You know, what they do out there is boring. A lot of things that they are doing is really, really boring. You mean this is bread for you? This is really fun? We are looking into the eternity. They cannot even fathom eternity. We are living for eternity. And this organization called the church is for all eternity. It's gonna rule the universe with Christ. Now it's like it's lopsided, amen? We are peripheral. The world is trying to make its conquest and doing all these, you know, hedonistic pleasures, and looking at us and saying, "Oh, you guys are so old-fashioned," and all that. One, when Jesus comes back, fwoop, the whole thing changes.
Jesus rules and the church is the main agenda. The church will rule with Jesus. You don't visit Israel now, you have to then, 'cause they say all the nations will come and visit Him. Where will He be? In Jerusalem. And that's why it's hotly contested real estate in the world, because the enemy knows Jesus is returning there to rule, all right? Even the world, they will not put Jerusalem. They'll put London, Paris, New York, all this fashion or whatever. That's their value system. God says Jerusalem, amen? Now, Jerusalem, you're getting very religious, and you know, that kind of thing. The Jerusalem that God has is a heavenly Jerusalem that will come down, the Bible says, on earth, and we'll be the citizens of it, amen?
So now we're in Genesis 24. I'll close with this. Genesis 24 is about Jesus and the church. The Holy Spirit goes out to find a bride for Jesus, for the Son, Abraham's son. And the first mention of "qarah" is here, Genesis 24. Okay, "The servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods are in his hands". I feel like telling you real fast, okay? I see a lot of nuggets. I must tell you one. Okay or not? Then I look at the time for awhile, you know, then I'm a bit concerned for you all. All right, but I'll tell you real fast, okay? Even like this, I get this revelation. Servant took ten of his master's camels, ten camels, but the next line says, "All his master's goods," Abraham's prosperity and goods, "were in his hand". But he only took ten camels, but all his master's goods were in his hands. God takes ten as the whole. For God, ten is a whole.
That's why we tithe. The world doesn't understand this, all right? They will make fun of churches that do that, that kind of thing, whatever it is. Even some Christians don't understand this, the ten. When you give the ten, you say, "Oh, we give God everything". No, no, God says the ten is everything. So ten represents all. Can you see that? "And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water". Notice the word "women," plural. So women are supposed to be there, but you all know the story. God stopped all the women for some reason. Only one woman came out, God's choice.
So even before he prayed the prayer, you must understand one thing. Even before you pray for the "qarah," right time, right place, even before you pray for success and favor, God already arranged already. Because the Bible says before He finished talking, she appeared. That means she must have made her journey already before He was praying. This year, the Lord told me, many of you have experienced this. You told me many of you have experienced this, so when I say this, you all will understand what I'm saying. Many of you, before you call, He answers. Sometimes you say, "I'm gonna pray about this. Okay, I'm busy now. I'm gonna pray about that". Then before you know it, answer came already. You didn't even have to pray. God says you will see more and more of this this year, all right? Isaiah, the promise in Isaiah, "It shall come to pass, yes, before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear".
So what he prayed that prayer. He said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me," what? "Success this day". And the word "success" here is the word "qarah," which is same word as "Time and chance happen to them all". It's a successful happening. It is a favorable happening, amen? Do you get it? It is orchestrated happening and a divinely orchestrated happening. He prayed for success. He didn't even know he was being led to pray for right time, right place, all right, because God already arranging the right time, right place. "And show hesed, show kindness, hesed, to my master Abraham". That's the word "grace" in the Hebrew, "hesed". So the first time "qarah," the word "qarah," appears, it is here. The first time "hesed" appears, all right, the first time "hesed" appears is not here, but, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The first time "hesed" and "qarah" appears together is here, which tells us that to be at the right place at the right time, you need God's grace, God's unearned, undeserved favor. But there's something about "hesed". "Hesed" appears earlier in the story of Lot, but the first time something to do with "hesed" appears, it's found here. You find that when you drop down, in verse 27, Abraham's servant worshipped the Lord when he realized that the right woman came out. "Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth," "hesed ve emet". This is the first occurrence. Why is that important, Pastor? Do you know what is this in the Greek? Grace and truth, literally.
In the Greek, in John 1:17, "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," this is "hesed ve emet". If a Hebrew is writing that, he would say, "Grace and truth, hesed ve emet". And "hesed ve emet" came for the first time in the Bible, first occurrence here, in the story of Jesus and the church. You cannot find true grace, true grace outside the church. You cannot find success outside the church. In other words, be planted in the church. If God give you success, even financial success, or in your career, or whatever, it is for the purpose of enlarging, creating, adding more to the church. It's about salvation. It's about the gospel going stronger, farther, deeper, greater into the lives of people, amen, all over the world. It's not about you, me, my, my family, and us all. That's all, no more. It's all about greater purpose.
And that's why God put the first mention of "qarah," right time, right place, the first mention of "hesed ve emet," true grace, all in the chapter, the longest chapter in Genesis about Jesus and the church. You cannot like, "My career comes first. Church, I go, lah. Once awhile I go, I go, lah". You won't see "qarah". You won't see, because why? There's a purpose that all this is mentioned here for the first time. Are you with me so far?