Joseph Prince - The God Who Provides
All right, so the names of God are important. We have Yeshua, the name of Jesus. But don’t forget there’s one more name that Jesus came to reveal. And this is all important. Inasmuch as you learn Psalms 91, all the Old Testament scripture, whatever it is, it must be brought into the New Covenant. If you want to say, «Pastor Prince, I don’t know the names of God as much,» it’s all right, child of God. There’s only one name you need to know: Father. Father. And that name denotes what? Family. The Bible says you cannot call God Father unless you have received the Spirit of sonship. When you say «Father,» all fears go. You see, go back to verse… the feathers and the truth again.
All right, verse 4. Verse 4: «He shall cover you with His feathers, under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler». So now we can say grace, his wings is actually grace, all that dispensation of grace and truth. So we have hesed ve’emet. Now, how does he say? He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow. Come here, bro. Stand down here. Okay, you are now under my shadow. Just now you were not under my shadow. You were under my sprinkling, just now. But now you are under my shadow. You see, because you came close. He came close. Thank you. All right, not only that, in verse 4, «He shall cover you with His feathers».
You know what they do with the chicken, the mother hen? I told you all a story in one of the… I forgot sometimes which service I preached on this, but there’s a true story of a farmer whose farm got burned down and he wept and finally after the… it was all in smoldering and some smoke was still around and everything was blackened with soot and all that, he went out there with tears in his eyes and then he passed by his chickens that were all burned and all that. Then he saw one particular chicken, all right, and with his foot absentmindedly just moving the chicken, and underneath the chicken came all the little chicks running out. What happened? They took refuge in the mother. The mother gave her life.
So running to be under his feathers speaks of what? Closeness. You cannot take somebody who wants to say, «I claim this promise. I claim this promise». That’s not what God wants. God wants you to come close to him. Don’t just, «I recite already five times, huh? Five is the number of grace. Now you are obliged to protect me». Then something happens, you get angry. No, that’s not the way it works, people. No, no, no. This whole thing is relationship. It talks about abiding under the shadow. It talks about under his wings, under his feathers. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and this is what he said in Matthew: «O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing»!
So in other words, we must be willing to come under his wings. I said, you must be… but you were not willing, the last part of verse 37. You must be willing. Are you willing to be protected? Are you willing to be close to him? Are you willing to have him as your refuge? I don’t care about you. «Amen, Pastor Prince! For me and my house, we say Amen»! Now church, protection in the Father’s name is amazing. Jesus himself said in the high priestly prayer, let’s eavesdrop, okay? Look at John 17. Jesus prayed: «Now I’m no longer in the world, but these are in the world,» his disciples. «And I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me, that they may be one as we are». «Keep through your name».
The only name that Jesus came to reveal is Father. And it puzzled them. Even, it was first offered to the Jewish people. He says, «Hey, don’t worry about what you shall eat, what you shall drink, what you shall wear. Your heavenly Father knows you have need of these things. If your Father clothed the lilies of the field, which today is, tomorrow is burnt up, how much more will he clothe you? Hey, you of little faith. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him». He kept on preaching, your Father, your Father, your Father, only to the nation of Israel, in anticipation of them receiving him as the King, becoming God’s children. But they rejected him. They only knew God as stern. They want to keep God in the Holy of Holies, they want to keep God in the temple, so that they can do whatever they want.
They don’t want this closeness. It’s amazing that Joseph, after he reconciled his brothers, the first thing he said was this: «I am Joseph»! The next thing he said was: «Come near me». And these are the brothers that betrayed him, rejected him, caused him years of pain, all right? He says, «Come near me». And then he says, «I’ll put you in the land, you and your little ones, and your flock, and all that you have, in the land of Goshen». Read up the word «Goshen». Everything has a meaning in the Bible. The word «Goshen,» all right, it means drawing near. Goshen. And in that place, I’ll provide for you. Draw near to God. That’s more important than saying, «I claim this, I claim that,» you know?
Like, you think that God works by you pushing button. Now I push already, ah, your turn, ah. Your turn, ah, don’t forget your turn, you know? And sometimes we think that our confession, our this and our that. You know, friend, let’s get real, come on. This is not claiming promises without drawing near. All this, abide under the shadow, under his wings you will take refuge. It speaks of closeness, love, family. You know, the only ones, the little ones, that can take refuge under the… little eaglets under the mother eagle, are her own. It’s a family thing. It’s a family thing. A puppy can’t do that, all right? Don’t just say, «God, God». There are times you say «God,» yes. But your Father. Beautiful, beautiful.
Genesis 22: «Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham! ' And he said, 'Hineni, '» I am here. In Hebrew, Hineni, I am here. «Then he said, 'Take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love.'» You think about it, Abraham had two sons; one is Ishmael. So why did God say, «Your only son»? Because God was talking about his Son, his only Son, the Son that he loved. And we all know that God didn’t want a human offering. It was a test and a visual demonstration that will be read for all time, for all generations, to see the love of God. Because, friend, this is the first time in the Bible the word «love,» ahavah, is mentioned.
The first mention is here. And the first mention tells you about the love of the Father for the Son. The love of the Father for the Son. Look up here, friend. Jesus says, «No man knows the Father except the Son and whoever the Son will reveal him». I want the Son to reveal the Father to me. So the first mention of love in the Bible is the love of the Father for the Son. The second mention, this is Genesis 22. The second mention is Genesis 24. Genesis 24 is the longest chapter in Genesis. Why? It’s the story of the unnamed servant looking for a bride for the son of Abraham. And this story has spanned 2,000 years. God is preparing a bride for his Son. It’s a lovely bride.
So the story of Rebekah in Genesis 24, the story of Rebekah is the story of the church. How when the servant saw her and she’s… «Are you willing to follow me? To marry a man you have never seen»? She says, «Yes». That’s our journey. And then out from his back came all the gold that he put on: bracelet, gold bracelets, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gift of faith, working of miracles, healings. Then she put gold on her nose. In those days, it’s a beautiful decoration. Nose is discernment; gift of discerning. The word of knowledge, the word of wisdom.
Finally, you know, she brought her bridesmaids with her. They traveled for days and days before she arrived. That’s our journey now, the church. And finally, when she saw Isaac, the Bible says she lighted off her camel. But in the Hebrew there and the Jewish rabbi says she fell off her camel, right into the arms of Isaac who came to visit. That’s gonna happen to the church. The church will be swept off her feet when we see our heavenly bridegroom. No more disease, no more sickness, no more poverty, no more death, no more separation, no more growing old, no more pains, no more boredom, no more falling asleep when the pastor is preaching. No more, no more. No more. Longest chapter. I’m sure that they have fireside talks. Every night they stop, she and her bridesmaids, you know, they will sit down there and Abraham’s elderly servant will start sharing about Isaac. About how the father brought Isaac up to the mountain, the whole story, until she fell in love with someone she has never seen.
«Tell me the story of Jesus. Who is the unnamed servant? He’s the Holy Spirit, Who’s come to glorify the Son. Tell me the story of Jesus» And that’s the story. Okay, anyway, I’m not on Genesis 24. I’m on Genesis 22. So two chapters before he looks for a bride, God says, «Take your son, the son you love». So the first mention of love is the love of the Father for the Son. The second mention is the love of the Son, the bridegroom, for his bride. And Isaac loved Rebekah. Or Rivqah, you will say that in Hebrew. Isaac loved Rebekah. Yitzhak ahav Rivqah. Loved Rebekah. Now look at this story. You all know the story so I won’t go into detail, all right? God says, «Take your son, your only son, the son that you love».
You know, it’s like God, God is really pushing it like, «Take your son». I mean, just take your son Isaac. Take your son. Your only son. The son that you love. God knew it was hard for Abraham. But he was a man of faith. «And offer him on Mount Moriah». So drop down. «So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering». Now we are jumping over because of time. He went 3 days' journey, the Bible says. Three days' journey, all right? If you are in Jerusalem, I can show you the path they took, all the way to Mount Moriah, which is the Temple Mount today.
Now, the Bible says there were two young men that followed them with the donkey and the wood. Abraham says, «You guys stay here. We, my son and I, will go there and worship». It’s the first mention of worship in English, but in Hebrew, it’s the second time it appears. Worship involves the cross. It involves redemption. When Jesus touched on worship with the woman at the well, he told her, «The Father seeketh such to worship him». The Father is looking. The Father is looking for worshippers. That’s what the Son said. And he’s the Son that God loves. You see, you never know how much God loves you until you know how much God loves his Son. Because he gave up his Son for you. So they went.
«Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, laid it on Isaac his son; and took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together». Look at that. «The two of them went together». Every time I read this story, I get new revelation. Yesterday, I was reading this again, and I saw this, «And the two of them went together». You know, the story of Jesus, «Took the wood and laid it on Isaac». That’s the wood, Jesus carried a cross and he fell. He took the cross. Now in the movie, «The Passion,» you have the mother coming. But when I read this, the father was there. The two of them went together. «Son, just a little more, son».
Remember, he was still father, not yet God. At the cross when he became sin, then he says, «There’s a distance, God». But he was still the Father. I believe it was the father that picked him up. But let’s go, son. Let’s go. «But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'Avi, my father! ' 'Hineni, beni. Here I am, son, my son.'» It’s not just Ben. Affection, his heart was full. He realized what’s going to happen, but his son doesn’t know. «He said, 'Avi, my father. ' He says, 'Hineni, beni, here I am, my son.' 'Look, ' Isaac said, 'the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Where is the lamb for a burnt offering? ' And Abraham answered, 'My son, beni, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering.'» Again, «The two of them went together».
I read this so many times. Sometimes… the Bible is amazing. How many of you read the same passage again and again and, bang, you see something you never saw before? All the way to the cross, the Father suffered as much as Jesus. But it’s got to be done. Do you know the answer is not really an answer? There’s no identity here. «God will provide himself a lamb». No one knows who the lamb is. The son asks, «Where is the lamb»? The father says, «God will provide himself a lamb». Finally, in the New Testament, John said, when Jesus walked in front of him, he told everyone, «Behold, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world». That’s the Lamb, Isaac. That’s the one that you are typifying. So they went there, the son went up.
Imagine the son helping him with the wood and all that. Just like Jesus carried the wood, his own execution instrument, and the son carried the wood and put it on there. It must be hard for Abraham. He probably covered the boy’s eyes. He was about to plunge the knife and the Bible says: «God said, 'Abraham, Abraham! ' He says, 'Yes, Lord? ' 'Don’t lay your hand on your son. Now I know that you fear me because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.'» See, the thing that… how do you and I know that God loves us? Because God has not withheld his Son, his only Son, from me, from us. The only difference is this: God spared Abraham’s son. God spared this elderly man of the pain of his son’s death. But God did not spare his own heart of that. No one would know how much it cost, this love.
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane in anticipation of being made sin on the cross, sweat blood just in anticipation. What a shocking thought it must be for the Son of God, holy, perfectly holy, trice holy, to even have the thought to become our sin. It made him bleed sweat of blood. The medical science says your capillaries burst under intense pressure. If that is so in the garden, how much more when literally he became sin? And God says, «Look behind you». And he looked behind. «Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it for a burnt offering instead of his son».
So God spared Abraham something he never spared himself. Again, I was reading this and I always thought that the reason why the ram is caught and it’s true because God wants a offering without blemish, without lacerations and all that. If the ram was caught and it tears its fur and its skin, delicate skin, it would not be a perfect offering. But he was caught by his horns. It’s not as if… rams are not stupid. Little lambs might be. Rams, you are mature. He walked right into it. He gave himself. I believe Jesus struggled to go to the cross, when he laid on the cross on the ground, it stunned everyone. I believe he went, not like the thief being dragged, kicking, all right? But Jesus went there and laid himself.
And the word «thicket,» Gesenius Lexicon, all right? Gesenius says this: The very first definition of the thicket is branches interwoven. Branches interwoven is a thicket. You all know the story, how it ends, right? Who came down the mountain? Father and son. I’m sure that he was holding his son, carrying his son. I’m sure that they were walking side by side. But look at how the story ends. The story ends like this: «Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together».
Wait a minute. Abraham returned to his young men. What about Isaac? Not mentioned. In the mind of God, only one man walked down. The offering is done. It’s a picture of Jesus Christ already being offered. And that’s the reason why Jesus told the Pharisees, «Abraham rejoiced to see my day». «You are not yet 50 years old,» they told him. «You’ve seen Abraham»? «It’s not that I’ve seen Abraham; Abraham saw me». Let’s get this clear. Who’s the greater one? «You’ve seen Abraham»? He says, «No, Abraham saw me. Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced because before Abraham was, I am».
In other words, when Abraham looked back, he didn’t just see the ram, he saw Mount Calvary, which is the highest peak of the range of Mount Moriah. And that’s why God had this visual demonstration of what he’s going to do to save man with all our uncleanness. And by the way, «Now it came to pass after these things it was told Abraham, saying, 'Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor.'» Why does the chapter end with, «Your brother has a son»? And that’s how the chapter ends. You know why? You keep on reading. It’s not down here.
There are a few more… about five more verses I didn’t put down. But four more verses, rather, all right? It says: «Nahor brought forth Bethuel his son. Bethuel brought forth Rebekah,» the bride of Isaac. In other words, Abraham came down as if Isaac didn’t come down. In reality, Isaac came down in the story. But in the Holy Spirit’s eyes it’s the cross of Jesus Christ. And now the focus, the ending of the chapter, is on the church. Without the cross, there will be no church. And the church is not stained glass windows or a building. The church is the most powerful, the most blessed, the most successful organization in the entire universe that God ever dreamed of.
«For God so loved the world,» that’s you, «that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish». Whosoever includes everybody, no one is left out. No matter how far into sin you say you’ve gone into, his love reaches you further still. His love is greater than all your sins. His grace is greater than all your falling short. I’m not asking you to embrace a religion. This is not religion. This is love. I’m asking you to embrace a Savior who gave his life for you on the cross for all your sins. I’m asking you to embrace a Father who loves you even before you knew his name. If that is you wherever you are, just pray this prayer from your heart right now. Say:
Heavenly Father, I put my trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. On that cross, Christ bore all my sins. He had no sins of his own. It was all my sins that he bore. It was my sins that he suffered for. Thank you, Father, that you raised him from the dead as a declaration that all my sins are put away. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior now and forevermore, in Jesus’s name. Thank you, Father, I am saved, eternally saved, greatly blessed, highly favored, and so loved. In Jesus’s name, amen.