Joseph Prince - Live Life with Great Faith
All right, «They limited the Holy One of Israel». This is a phrase that I feel that the Lord has put in my spirit, that has happened to so many of us. We have become natural. We are God’s people, yet we become natural. Psalm 78 says the people of Israel, pertaining to their experience in the wilderness, they, «Again and again they tested God, And they limited the Holy One of Israel». They limited the Holy One of Israel. God is able to do so many things, but we limit him. We limit him because of what we hear other people say. We limit him because of false doctrines that have crept into the church. We limit him because of human natural experience. We limit the Holy One of Israel. God is unlimited, amen.
And according to your faith, Jesus said, here in Matthew chapter 9, «Jesus came into the house, the blind men came to him. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this? '» Do you believe that I am able to do this? Do you believe? Now, I didn’t say, «Do you believe you can see»? «But do you believe,» Jesus said, «do you believe that I am able to do this»? Our faith is not in our faith. Our faith is in him. «Do you believe that I am able to do this»? You know, the father of the demon-possessed boy shouted to Jesus, «Lord, if you can do anything, help us»! Jesus answered, «If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes».
And do you know something? We always say that Jesus put the responsibility of belief on the man. Yes and no. He’s always gracious, he’s always kind. Let me tell you this. He’s not saying, and I’ve heard people say, the Father put the response on Jesus. If you can do anything… Jesus said, «No, if you can believe,» all right? But it sounds, like, sounds real hard. Actually, what Jesus is saying, and the Greek structure does bear this out. Jesus said to the man, «If you can believe that all things are possible to the one who believes,» you know who is the one that believes there? Jesus. «All I’m asking is that your little faith hook up to me. Just a mere touch of that very extremity of my garment can heal that woman».
It is not your faith. It is who you have your faith in. He’s altogether lovely. He’s full of grace and truth, amen. And his name is Jesus. So he’s telling the father, «If you can believe,» then in our English, comma, that’s a problem, «all things are possible to him that believes». Actually, it says, «If you can believe that all things are possible to the believing one». And you know who is the believing one? Not the Father. Jesus. All I want you to believe is believe that all things are possible for me, amen. As a man, I’m always full of faith. I’m always believing my Father, amen. So even if you can’t believe, you can put your faith. The apostle Paul says it like this: «I live by the faith of the Son of God». Newer translation says, «I live by faith in the Son of God».
But I love the old, and the Greek, by the way, tells you, it can go both ways. But my spirit bears witness with the fact that Paul actually said in the King James Version, «I live by the faith». Not in faith, in faith of the Son of God, but I live by the faith of the Son of God. It is his faith I live by. So when I look at a situation, I don’t ask, «Can I believe God for this»? I say, «Can Jesus believe God for this»? My belief is that Jesus can believe God for this situation. My belief is that… don’t forget, Jesus became a man just like you and I and he has to live by faith, amen.
So my question is, can Jesus believe for this situation? Can Jesus believe God? I believe Jesus can. That’s my belief. You see, we have taught faith in such a way that we legalize faith, you know. And God doesn’t want anything to be legal. The moment it’s legal, it is no longer faith. I said, once it’s legal, it’s no longer faith. Now, I don’t have it up here, but if you look at Romans chapter 4, just make a note of that, it says that… and the law is not of faith, and the law is not of faith, «for if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of no effect».
So the problem with faith is that the moment you get law into it, in other words, you are trying to operate in faith. Let’s say you’re believing God for healing for your child. But then the voice comes in, and you know whose voice is there, telling you, «But you haven’t prayed enough,» okay. «You haven’t read your Bible enough. Hey, you are not good enough. Hey, remember what you did the other day»? And then you start assessing all those things based on what you are doing or have not done instead of the goodness of God and what the Lord Jesus Christ has done at the cross, amen? Instead of putting your eyes on Jesus, you put your eyes on yourself, and that is effectively putting yourself under law. And the moment you put yourself under law, faith cannot operate.
Many years ago, I remember I just got married. We had a one bedroom, one hall kind of apartment. And my only study was actually the living room, the small living room. And I had all my books around me. That was the time when God said to me, «No one died, son. No one died from Egypt to Sinai. Study this period because it’s a picture of pure grace». And I turned to the Bible. I never heard anyone preach this. So I turned to the Bible and tried to find someone who died. But all the way, the children of Israel from Egypt to Sinai, where they received the Ten Commandments of the law, no one died. Why? Because it was pure grace. God brought them out. Even though they were not perfect, they were murmuring, murmuring, murmuring all the way, God brought them out not because they are good, because he is good.
God did not bring them out, amen, because of their faithfulness but because of his faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant that he made with Abraham, amen. An unconditional covenant that was made before the law even existed. The law is about your behavior. The law is about your conduct. But the amazing thing is this. When we live by faith, faith purifies our hearts, which affects our conduct. And then, besides the fact that God taught me about the Egypt and Sinai pure grace picture there that I’ve shared in my, «Destined to Reign,» book, he also asked me this. Why did the centurion have great faith?
Now I said, «I know this. I’ve heard a lot of preaching on this. Because he understood authority,» yeah. And then no answer. The Lord was talking to me, so I know his voice. He said that, «Why did the centurion have great faith»? And I answered what I heard other people teach and preach. «Because he understood authority. He was a soldier». And no answer. And then I heard him say, «Would you like to learn the secret of great faith»? I said yes. I’ve studied faith, you know, for many years then, and I thought I knew about faith. I said, «Yes, Lord». He said, «There are only two that I’ve said in the gospels that had great faith. One was the centurion and the other was the Syrophoenician woman. Study the common denominator».
Remember the woman? Her daughter was possessed with a demon and she came to Jesus, acting like a Jew when she wasn’t one. She wasn’t a Jew. She was a Canaanite. And then the centurion, right, he was coming to Jesus to ask for healing for his servant who was sick. Obviously, he loved his servant. And the Lord says, «Find the common denominator between these two and you will find the secret of great faith». Of course, you all know this now, all right, so it’s redundant for me to tell you. But at that point in time, I studied both. One was a male, one was a female. One was a soldier, one was a homekeeper, right? One was within the land, one was on the outskirts of the land. It’s like, whoa! A lot of contrast, extreme contrast.
And then I said, finally, my lightning fast mind, after about 10, 15 minutes. I forgot the time, you know, probably longer than that. I said to the Lord, «Tell me». And the Lord says, «Both were Gentiles. Therefore, they did not know the law, but they know me». Because when you know the law, the law will always tell you, «Wait a minute, wait a minute. You don’t qualify for this. Wait a minute, what have you done? Wait a minute, have you done enough? Wait a minute, even you do right, you have not done enough. Wait a minute, wait a minute». That «wait a minute» is the law. And some people have this idea that Pastor Prince is saying throw out the law. I’m not saying throw out the law. I’m just telling you, I am for the moral excellence that the law was supposed to achieve and produce. But that wasn’t the reason God gave the law. God gave the law, that by the law is the knowledge of sin.
So that men will stop, you know, if there’s no law, no one will know they are sinners. What’s adultery? What is lying? They do not know. Even though they are committing it, they do not know they are sinners. So God gave the law so that men will become sin-conscious. But now that the law has served its function, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but after faith has come, the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ that we might be made righteous by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the schoolmaster. And to put a believer under the schoolmaster again is to make him afraid and be sin-conscious, and thereby depriving that believer of believing God with robust faith.
Okay, so the common denominator is that they are both Gentiles. They just focus on Jesus. They are not focused on, «I’m coming short of this, I’m coming short of that». Then to compound the problem, the Jewish people have 613 commandments added to the Ten Commandments, all right? Now, many of it is from the scriptures, but there’s a lot of rabbinical traditions and laws that comes in, okay? So are there no commandments for the believer? There is. The commandment is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to love one another. If you are under the law, this is what happens in terms of your service, in terms of your functioning in the church. Because of time, I’m going to tell you real quick. This is under the law. This is what God says under the law. «This is what pertains to the Levites».
Levites are people who serve the Lord, all right? They help the priests. «From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting; at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more». In other words, if you are under law, your strength is limited, you are subject to the natural decays and wear and tear. Don’t forget, people.
I want to tell you something. Remember this. The Bible says Joshua grew old. Caleb did not. The Bible records Joshua’s death. It does not record Caleb’s death. The very chapter, Joshua 13, that says God told Joshua, «You are old,» in the next chapter, Caleb said to Joshua, «I’m as strong today at 85 as I was the day Moses sent me out at 40 years old. My strength is for war. I can fight. Give me this mountain. Give me this mountain,» amen. And by the way, show them Judges 1 just now, verse 19. We started with this, right? Right? We started with this, right?
Look at the next verse. «And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said,» Hebron is the mountain. He says, «Give me this mountain». Caleb alone, it sounds as if he was alone, expelled from there the three giants, the three sons of Anak. What a contrast between someone who believed God and someone who says, «Brother, you must come with me». Caleb alone did it. I see men and women of faith. Okay, go back to this. We will close. Go back to the, just now, 25 years old. So 25 to 50, many of you are saying, «My goodness, I’m beyond already».
So in the natural, but listen, Moses served until he was 120, and died without sickness and disease. His eyes were not dim nor his natural force abated. Caleb served, at 85 he says, «I’m as strong today as I was,» and there’s no record of his death, amen. The Bible says, «Young men shall faint, and the youth shall fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint».
Genesis 18, Abram was sitting in the shade of the tree and he looked up and he saw three men coming. He realized that one of them is the Lord, and the Bible says he ran. He was 80 plus and he ran. And after he greeted them, he ran to help them prepare food for his guests. He ran at 80 plus. But here is what we see in the Bible. If you are under law, you will be limited, because the law is all about your strength. You shall not, you shall not, you shall not, you shall not. It’s about your strength. You understand? But grace is beyond your strength, above and beyond what you can do, above and beyond your ability. Can I have a good amen? So if you function by grace, this is the promise for you, amen, and this is for happy people.
All right, Deuteronomy 33. This is the last verse. We will close with this. You all must turn to this, okay? Deuteronomy 33, verse 20-something. It says, this is the blessing of Asher, «As thy days, so shall thy strength be». Deuteronomy 33, verse 25, the promise to Asher. «Asher» means happy. People who are happy people are fruitful people. I can’t understand Christians who are supposed to be spiritual, but they are so grumpy and so legalistic, amen. Happy people. Abraham laughed when God says he will have a son. Sarah laughed when he heard she will be a mother, amen. And then they decided to call the boy «laughter». They had a lot of fun and they were fruitful.
When the Lord said to Sarah, «You’re going to have a…» God said to Abraham rather, but Sarah was eavesdropping. In the same story where I talk about Abraham running to greet them, in the same chapter, chapter 18 of Genesis, she was listening and she heard that she would have a baby. She laughed and this is what she said. Not to impress anybody, she said within herself. «Shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also»? Now, the Lord just said she would have a baby next year, right? But she said, «Shall I have pleasure»? She did not say, «Shall I have a baby»? She said, «Shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also»? In other words, she’s saying, «If I enjoy my lord, the baby will come».
Whatever you want from the Lord, you got to enjoy. I think Christianity is really about the joy of the Lord. Really. The joy of the Lord, and we even misconstrued that. You know, Matthew, we say, «You got to be joyful. You must be joyful». It doesn’t say that your joy is your strength. The joy of the Lord, it is his joy that is my strength. And you know who he rejoices over? You. He rejoices over you with singing. Once you know the joy of the Lord, no wonder you are strong, because you know that he is joyful over you. You are his joy.
I look at Justin and he doesn’t know how much he is a joy to me, amen. He is such a joy, amen. Last night, he sent a message, a video message, to Pastor Mark. He said, «Pastor Mark, you preach very well,» he said, «but why do you…» Pastor Mark sent back, «You are very cute. Why do you snort»? amen. He was watching Pastor Mark and he understands some Chinese so he was just enjoying it. But he was asking the question so I said, «You better ask him». You are his joy. The joy of the Lord is not, «You gotta be joyful, man. You gotta be joyful. Come on, be joyful, man». That’s a law. No, it’s knowing his joy. What he’s joyful over? It’s the joy of the Lord that’s my strength. Amen? I’m done. I got a lot more to share but that’s it. Okay, praise the Lord. Give him praise, hallelujah!
So, friend, if you stay in the natural, you trust your abilities to be moral, to be excellent, amen, that is the law. You shall not, you shall not. Focus is on you. But if you trust the Lord, put your trust in the Lord, he is my righteousness, he is my holiness, he is my redemption, he is my wisdom, you trust the Lord, the result will be supernatural. You trust the law, all right, the law only limits to «you shall not, you shall not,» based on your own limited ability. You trust grace, you trust the Lord, it’s beyond and above.
You see, the Lord is not limited. We limit him. When Jesus fed the multitudes with a boy’s five loaves and two fish, the Bible says he gave them as much as they would. That goes against the grain of a lot of religious teaching that says that Jesus gave according to God’s will. Jesus gave based on… no, no. There was no scarcity. He gave them as much as they would. It was in the imperfect active tense. They decide how much they want to eat. As long as the demand was there, the supply flowed. The very next verse says, «And when they were filled, he commanded them to pick up the fragments that remained».
That’s our Lord, amen. We limit the supply, not him. And, friend, maybe your trust. There is an independence of the flesh which is, «I don’t need anybody. I don’t need anybody». In fact, when they hear a sermon like mine, what I shared today, they will say, «Yes, I and God is enough». No, that’s the independence of the flesh. But what we are talking about today is independence of faith. Notice your eye is on the Lord, but then when the Lord tells you to invite someone, it’s because the Lord is leading you. The Lord is asking you to go to your counselor, your care group leader for advice or counsel. Do it if the Lord is leading you, amen. That’s the independence of faith.
So, friend, ask yourself, «Do I trust the Lord, or have I been trusting in my doctor all this while, putting him in the place of God? His advice is final». Is that it? My lawyer, my broker, my banker. Have you asked the Lord? Have you prayed? Is there peace in your heart? «Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly». Not wicked, ungodly. I’m not saying you can only go to believers. I’m not saying that. I’m saying, have you asked the Lord? Seek to the Lord first, amen. He loves you, man. You are his joy. You are his joy. And knowing that will give you strength.
I pray for you people in the name of Jesus that as the doctors tell you as your days progress, «This part here will get weaker. That part will get more and more decayed. This one will get worse and worse, not better and better». But I’m here to tell you the Word of God says, «As your days, so shall your strength be». Who will you believe? In other words, the older you grow, the stronger you are. That’s what he’s saying. Oh, I don’t hear no amen except for one over here, I think. As your days. But the experts can only tell you what is the truth based on their limited understanding. I wouldn’t call it truth. I’ll call it facts. But it’s still limited to the flesh, to the boundaries of man’s understanding and knowledge. But when you trust the Lord, it’s an inexhaustible reservoir of his supply open to you.