Joseph Prince - Hope For Life's Dark Moments And Tough Seasons - Part 3
God is the maker of good days. You know, the Bible says that "He that will love life and see good days," and good days is always plural. "Good days," with an "s". But when it comes to the day that you go through a trial, maybe some of you are in the midst of a trial right now, the Bible uses the word "Stand therefore in the evil day," and there's no "s," singular, which means your good days are plentiful, your evil day is far in between. I wanna give you five words of grace for you to use. Every time there's a battle, there's a difficulty, say this under your breath. Look at the problem and say this under your breath, okay? Before I give it to you, let me show you a story, a very famous story, that happened in Israel. You still can go to that place, that valley there, and still imagine, because the valley is almost unchanged, all right, the topography and all that.
1 Samuel 17: "When the Philistine looked about and saw David," the Goliath has been standing there challenging the people of Israel to fight him. For 40 days he's been standing there. No one dared to fight this 10-footer. Some say about 9 to 11, 12 feet. We're not sure but he's one of the giants. And he was ugly, he was mean. In those days, all right, they are very, you know, their faces are all, like, scars and all that, so he disdained David. "When he saw David, he despised David because David was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, 'Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?' And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, 'Come to me, come to me, I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!' And David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with visible sword, with a visible spear, and a visible javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts," invisible God who is eternal, "the God of the armies of Israel, whom you defied".
Next, "This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I'll strike you and take your head from you. And this day I'll give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air, to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know there is a God in Israel". Next. "Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with," what is visible, with, "sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands". Right now, memorize this. Learn to master this when you are in, before your difficulty, learn to say this under your breath: "The battle is the Lord's. It's not mine. It's not mine," amen?
"But Pastor Prince, David still went to meet the..." Yeah, but how did he go? Dressed in an armor? No, dressed as a shepherd boy. With a sword? No, with a sling. So, obviously, he believes this battle is not mine. The battle is the Lord's. So learn to look at your problems now and the devil say, "What are you going to do about it"? You say, "The battle is not mine. It's the Lord's. Lord, this is your battle. Lord, this is your battle. Lord, this is your battle," throughout this year. "Lord, this is your battle". You know, sometimes it won't be as quick as David's victory, but the Lord is hearing what you're saying, and the Lord loves it. His arms are bigger than yours. "Lord, this is your battle". The battle is the Lord's. Your five words of grace this year, amen? The doctors gave you a bad diagnosis. Under your breath, "This battle is the Lord's".
That's the good fight of faith. You fight by not fighting. You fight by not fighting. That's the greatest fight. It's like the devil wants you to think there's a place God healed, and you are not healed. There's a place called healed. You see, you must do your best to go there and you know, and he will try to bring in, but you must be obedient enough to reach there, you must be holy enough to reach there, you must be good enough to reach there, and you're never there. Actually, that's not the truth. The truth is, you're already there. You are the healed, and the devil is trying to take your healing and you're saying, "No, this is a lying symptom. No, Lord, this is your battle. I'm already healed. This is your battle, Lord. I'm already healed. This is your battle, Lord, I'm already healed". It's so much more easier to know that you are in a building when you're already in the building. Are you listening?
You're already healed. Not trying to be healed. The devil is trying to take your healing. It's not like you're trying to take your healing. No, the devil is trying to take your healing. By calling his bluff, you expose him. It's a fight of faith. It might take some time. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy, and that's why the Bible is faith food for all of us. Can I have a good "Amen"? All right, let's fast forward. David became a king and, according to his seed, down through the years, there was another king called Jehoshaphat, and King Jehoshaphat was surrounded... don't show them just yet. He was surrounded by the enemies, about four or five enemies, and they were surrounding him, the Bible says a great multitude came against him, and I love his prayer. You got time? Read his prayer, all right?
It's found in 1 Chronicles 20. He says this. He looked to God and he says, "God..." I love this prayer. "We have no might, no power, against this great multitude, but our eyes are upon you". I love it. It's like saying, "We have no might, we have nothing, no resources against this disease, against this condition, but our eyes are upon you. I don't know how my daughter can be delivered, how my son can be delivered, but my eyes are on you". And when they said that, the Holy Spirit fell upon one of the sons of Asaph and he was a prophet, and he said this: "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: 'Do not be afraid nor be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.'" Yes, listen. This battle is not yours. It is God's. "But the enemies are coming against me," Jehoshaphat could have said. But it's not yours, king. It is God's.
"But you don't understand, Pastor Prince. This is coming against my family". But it's not yours. It's God. And everything in your flesh is saying, you are just being irresponsible, you should worry. How can you not worry? And, in fact, you are doing the greatest thing you can ever do against that situation, against that problem, even though you're in the midst of a trial, amen? And someone said, "Well, Pastor Prince, you know, of course, you are so blessed, you do not know what I'm going through". How do you know that I'm not going through a trial right now? How do you know? In fact, I am going through a trial right now, all right? We are all always going, either about to enter a trial, either in the trial, or outside the trial. You understand? This side of heaven is part and parcel, but I'm eating and I'm feeding, I'm not complaining.
Look throughout the wilderness experience, those who are complaining. God hates complaining, amen. You complain, you remain. You praise, you get a raise above your situation, all right? Don't complain and remain. Praise and be raised, hallelujah. The battle's not yours, y'all. You know who he sent in front of him? You know who he sent in front of him to meet the great multitude? Praisers, worshipers, and they praised the Lord for the beauty of holiness by saying, "Praise the Lord for he is good. His mercies endures forever". Now, when they arrive at the battle scene, they found out all the enemies kill each other. There was an internal fight and they started fighting and all of them killed each other. And for 3 days, Israel was picking up the spoils of war. God says, "You will not need to fight. You won't need to fight in this battle. Position yourself," number one, "stand still and see the salvation of the Lord".
If I can show you the Hebrew. Jesus's name, Yeshua in Hebrew, is what you find down here: "Position yourself, stand still and see Jesus". See Jesus. For those of you who know alef tav, alef tav appears here. Alef tav, Jesus Yahweh. "Don't be afraid, don't be dismayed, tomorrow go out against them, the Lord is with you". "Pastor Prince, they still have to go out and fight". Yes, but they sent singers to show how much they trust the battle is not theirs, praising the Lord. Now we go to the time of Moses in front of the Red Sea. Armies of Pharaoh coming behind, the people yelling, "Did you bring us out here to die, Moses? Is this what it's all about"? And then Bible says: "Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.'" Same thing.
See Jesus. Stand still, see the invisible, the one who loves you, the one who cares for you, the one who gave his life for you. Look at him, all right? "The Egyptians," the disease you see on the x-ray, the condition in your child, that lack, that debt, the huge debt you are supposed to pay, "that you see today, you shall see again no more forever". Why? "The Lord will fight for you, and you will hold your peace". The Lord will fight for you. The word "fight" here is lachem. The Lord will fight for you, you will hold your peace. All right, watch this again. Hold your peace. "I want to do something". Hold your peace. Hold it, hold it steady. "I want to say something".
Hold your peace. The Lord will fight for you. "Maybe God needs my help". Hold your peace. The Lord will fight for you. "I don't see any difference. It's getting worse". Hold your peace. Hold your peace. The Lord will fight for you. "I need to help God". Thank God; hold his peace. Remember this. God must get all the glory. He doesn't share the glory. I always say this, and I say this reverently. If God wants to get all the glory, let God do all the work. And the devil always come throughout the day. It's a fight of faith, it's a beautiful fight of faith. "What are you going to do about it"? No, it's the Lord. It's not mine. The battle's not mine. You found the wrong guy. Look to the one who sees everything. Your place is fight not to fight and labor to enter the rest, all right? "Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest you fall into unbelief". Labor to be more restful. Labor to be more restful.
Here, the devil wants to attack this. Many a times you think you are thinking those thoughts. You're not. When I was suffering those things I said I suffered 18 years old, 19 years old, you know, it wasn't me thinking those thoughts. I... "What was your problem, Pastor"? Blasphemous thoughts. I was so sincere, I wanna be so close to God. All of a sudden, bang, blasphemous thoughts kept coming in my mind. And I thought it was like this, from me. I never knew it was from outside in. I didn't know the devil can give you thoughts. Like Peter told Ananias, "Why has Satan put in your heart," Judas Iscariot, "Satan put into his heart". Likewise, how does God speak to you? Nehemiah: "God has put in my heart". Man of God, God has placed in my heart a desire. It is God who works in you, not outside. In you. In fact, God works in you, the devil works from outside, because God forbid the devil works from inside.
Here is where we've got to watch it. The devil attacks here. And here is what he does. He throw the thought in you, "I'm an addict". He use the personal pronoun. He doesn't use the second person, "You". He use the first person, "I," as if you are thinking those thoughts. So many a times, I would have blasphemous thoughts and I think it's from me against God. "Oh no, oh no," and then he will...when I'm praying, bad thoughts about God... a lot of blasphemous thoughts. Then I stopped praying. Then slowly, slowly, I just left. I know he never leaves me, but I left the Lord, amen. It's just the blasphemous thoughts, and I own it, you know? Just like the saying, "You can't stop birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from making a nest". You can, you know? You can stop them from making a nest. You know, you stand there... "Is he making a nest"? "I think so. Sure looks like a nest to me. I can't tell because sometimes your hair is a nest, but I think there's a bird there. Oops, sorry, now there's an egg in the nest, on your nest".
You can stop the bird from... you know, you can't stop thoughts from flying. Some bad thoughts will come, amen? It happens to all of us. Now, here is a word of deliverance. When a bad thought comes, listen carefully, when a evil thought comes, a blasphemous thought comes, don't own it. It's a bird flying, that's all. It does not define you. "Now let us who are of the day be sober," all right? We don't belong to the night season, but we go through the night season. One day, there'll be no more night, the Bible tells us, but we are children of the day. We are children of the light. Let us put on the breastplate, "putting on the breastplate of faith and love". So the breastplate protects you, your heart. Your heart is where the accusation comes in. The devil accuses you on your heart, your conscience is always this realm. Faith and love will protect your heart.
And that's why, regardless of what you hear, a sermon, whatever it is, if you live with fear, if you live with a attitude of holier than thou, bitter towards other Christians and all that, you have not heard the Word of God, because the Word of God will always cause the breastplate of faith and love to be on your heart, on your conscience. Can I have a good "Amen"? And then it says: "And as a helmet the hope of salvation". The hope of soteria. Salvation is a all-encompassing word, all-inclusive word. It includes not just salvation from eternal destruction, salvation from hell, but salvation from sickness. Look it up. The word "salvation" is a noun, feminine noun, but the word "soteria" is a feminine noun, but it comes from the verb, sozo, where Jesus told the woman, just now we talked about the woman who came behind and received healing. Jesus says, "Your faith has sozo you".
So soteria is also healing, 'cause sozo is in it. It's the verb form of soteria, amen? Healing. It's rescue, a rescue from danger, a deliverance, protection. Wow, it's... so when the angel ascend and said, "And you shall call his name Jesus," in the Greek it will be, "You will call his name 'Soteria,'" salvation. His name, it is all-inclusive name. And he demonstrated his name everywhere he went. He set people free. The legion, the guy who was possessed with so many demons, he set him free. So much so, the man wants to be with Jesus, amen. He healed. Everywhere he went, he healed all those who were oppressed of the devil. God was with him. Can I have a good "Amen"?
I feel like the Holy Spirit's telling me to tell many of you, watching this, you are having battle your thoughts, you know why? You know why those thoughts linger? Because you own it. You say it's you. So as long you own it, amen, it becomes yours, and it stays because it's yours. But no more, you said, "No, these are not my thoughts. These are not my thoughts". Many of you have thoughts like you look down a very high building, and all that, and the thought comes, "Jump," amen? Don't say, "Well, how can I think that way? How can I" Don't accept it. It's not you. But the problem happens when young people start accepting that and I think that's the reason why many are now very susceptible to those thoughts. And they don't have this hope of salvation. Hope of salvation means, like, positive, confident, happy expectation of good in your future.
As a result that you know you are saved, Jesus took your sins to the cross, there's no sin that will penalize you or produce a bad fruit in your future. It's all been paid by Jesus. It's the hope of salvation. You have salvation, you have Jesus, you have forgiveness of sins. You have deliverance from the curse of the law. You have a good future, amen. Only the blessings of God are in store for you in the future. So, hope is a helmet, is a helmet on your head, amen, to protect you from... you have a hope because of salvation. You are saved. That's how the world, the world cannot raise your hopes, and rightly so. They cannot. They have no foundation for their hope. They just hope for the best, and that's the language they use. That is not your language, child of God. You have a solid, rock-solid, foundation to believe the best good in your future, amen. Jesus paid for you, is a rock-solid foundation.
Why can you believe that you can be free from the addiction? Jesus shed his blood for it, amen. Why can you believe that you can be well from the symptom which... even though it was a chronic symptom for years? Because Jesus paid for it, and you are partaking of the Lord's Supper. You're getting better and better and better and better. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine happily, cheerfully. Let your head lack no ointment, child of God, amen. Are you listening? So put on the breastplate.
You know, as a young person, I was sharing with you that I read a book that says you can lose your salvation and, for some reason, I believed this author. I believed you can lose your salvation. The moment I did that, bang, all those blasphemous thoughts came. I can point to the very time when I started believing what I read. I don't fault the author, okay? I believed it, okay? And I believed you can lose your salvation, which I know now you cannot, amen. It's called eternal security, praise God. But I believed that, and the moment I believed that, that's when all those blasphemous thoughts came. You know why? There's no more helmet. There's no hope of salvation. Even though I was saved, I have salvation, there's no hope, because I believed I was lost. The moment the first thought came against the Holy Spirit, blasphemous thoughts, bang. I said, "I've committed the unpardonable sin," which it's not. The helmet, the breastplate, are so vital to guard your heart from an evil conscience, from an accusation. Say, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ," amen? Are you all blessed? And I just got started, all right? Praise the Lord. Lift your hands all across this place and say:
Father, I thank you my future, the days ahead of me, are full of blessings, full of good things, Lord, that you have in store for me. Every day you will load me up with your benefits, with your goodness, because you love me and because of what Christ has done. He died for my sins, he was raised for my justification, and now I have access into this favor ground, this grace ground, in which I stand. I boast and hope, I have a positive expectation of the glory of God being fulfilled in my life, in my ministry, in my career, in my marriage, in my children, in all my loved ones, in my church. I will see your glory, and the glory is always manifesting. The glory is always something visible. Thank you, Lord. I rejoice in that. And I rejoice and I boast in my current sufferings, knowing they are fulfilling the objective of producing a character that is never having depressive thoughts but hopeful thoughts, a character that believes for your goodness to be seen in the future, in the land of the living, amen. No death in the future, no disease in the future, no curse in the future, your blessings, your health, your shalom, your wellbeing, your protection. Good days for my family and I. Thank you, Father, and even my sleep will be sweet in Jesus's name, amen.
Real quick, I just wanna say this, I talk about sleep because I saw people struggling with sleep and let me just tell you this, you don't look forward to your bed. Bedtime is like you are afraid because you've been attacked with nightmares, you've been attacked with night visions that are scary and all that, you just, or you don't sleep well. You don't look forward to that. But friend, I prophesy to you in Jesus's name right now that you will look forward to your bed because it will be a time of refreshing, amen? You look forward because it's a time when God gives to you and you can't wait to wake up to new blessings, to new provisions, to new supply, amen. You will see that, as I sleep, God gives, as I sleep, God gives. That thought will dominate you and even your sleeping time becomes something you can hope, amen, in Jesus's name.