Joseph Prince - God Wants You to Depend On His Grace
This is an excerpt from: Hear Your Way Out Of Every Weakness
So here again, we are for the law for the reason God gave the law, and God never gave the law to justify man by. So are you clear on this? Let's move on, okay? When God gave the law, remember when God brought them out of Egypt, all right, listen, there was no Ten Commandments. It was not yet given. Say, "Amen". Oh, for a moment, I thought I'm preaching in another church. Okay, all right, let's try this again, okay? Let's try this again. New Creation Church, am I right? Am I in the right church? Okay, when God brought them out of Egypt, are they cognizant of the Ten Commandments? No, it was not yet given. Mount Sinai is in front. Okay, in case you don't know your chronological order, deliverance from Egypt happened first. They came out by what? The blood of the lamb, amen? Were they good people? They got out because they were good? No, because he is good, amen. It is his goodness. Then he brought them through the Red Sea, right?
I mean, behind are the marauding forces of the Egyptian army. In front is the deep, deep, deep, deep Red Sea. And they complained. Complaining is sin. But God didn't seem to respond to their sin. God was responding under the covenant, Abrahamic covenant of grace that they were under then, and God opened up the sea. Hmm, what a covenant. It's as if God is not even regarding their complaining. God brought them through the Red Sea because of His faithfulness, not because of theirs. Then on the other side, they complained again because after three days there was no water, and they complained at the bitter waters of Marah. God healed the waters in spite of their complaining, and God says, "I am the Lord who heals you," amen? And God gave them what?
They complained there was no food. God gave them manna from heaven. Every day, champions' food. Don't have to worry. It's organic, no artificial flavorings or colors. It's pure from heaven. In fact, the Bible says, "Man did eat angels' food," in the Psalms. Open your mouth every morning. So it seems like no one died all the way from Egypt at the foot of Mount Sinai, through all the Red Sea and all the vicissitudes that they went through. They reached Mount Sinai. Though they complained, they sinned, they sinned every step of the way, no one died. That's something the Lord showed me many years ago that triggered off this ministry, my ministry. I checked, and many people have checked all over the world ever since I said that.
People that follow my ministry and those who are criticizing me also, they've checked. No one can come and say a person died. No one died, even though they sinned. Did they sin? Yes. No one died. But something happened after Sinai, Mount Sinai, when the law was given. This time, when they complained, poom, martir, all right? That means what? Die. See, die, all right? When they complain, they die. When they complain, they die. Wait a minute? Same God, different administration. The other day in one of the hotels I stayed in Israel, let's not be specific so that we don't blame... you all don't go, "Oh, be careful of that hotel". No, no, no. We both were, a pastor and I were, one of the pastors were talking to me.
Looks like the system have changed, you know? The security features are not as good. Like anyone can just press the button and go up, and all that. You know, it's like we are thinking, "Yeah, how come"? Then I saw another sign later on, "Under new management". Another hotel group took over this hotel, I don't know when, last year or what, so it's under new management and they have their own style of administrating. And to me, it wasn't as good as the old. I kinda wish that the old remained. Same building, same hotel. But listen, the law is an administration. Grace is also an administration. The law demands, "You shall not, you shall not". Grace says, God says, "I will be this to you. I will give you this. I will do that for you". The focus on God's, "I will".
That means what? Focus on God. Here, the focus is on you. The law is focused on you, your strength. "You shall not". But the problem is that man don't have that strength. That's the problem. Man is bankrupt. So the law was given to bankrupt man. Why was it given then? Because man is so proud. So at the foot of Mount Sinai, I'm gonna say it in Hebrew again. At the foot of Mount Sinai, they said, "Kol asher". "Kol" means everything that God says. "Kol asher diber," God's Word, "na'aseh". "Kol asher diber Adonai," God's name, "na'aseh". "Na'aseh" means, "We can keep it. We can do it". It's a very affirmative word. Later on, they added the word "v'nishmah," which is even stronger, "And we will observe it," all right? "We will keep it and observe it".