Joseph Prince - Your Mistakes Don't Change God's Love for You
The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The law was given by a servant. Grace and truth came by the Son. We are not under Moses. We are under Christ. We are not under law, we are under grace. We are not under demand, we are under supply. Even, yes, even the supply for holiness. The supply for a victorious life. Give them Galatians 3, the passage. Look at verse 11 and 12, the comparison. «That no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'the just shall live by faith.' Yet the law is not of faith». The law is not of faith. If you are under law, your faith cannot operate. But those under law, «'the man who does them,'» who keeps the law, the man who performs them, «'the man who does them will live by them.'»
So you got two lifestyles here. One is the righteous, by faith will live. The other one is the one who performs all the commandments, mind you, it must be all, will live. In other words, if you can keep all the commandments, you will live. The way of grace is, if you believe you are righteous by faith, you will live. What faith is this? We got to believe we are justified by faith. We believe that we are righteous by faith. Whereas those under the law, they never come to a place they believe they are righteous. They are still performing, performing, performing. They live every day like God is angry, then they do things, God is pleased. It’s like the story of the Jewish religion in the Old Covenant where it’s still a failing saint. Fail, cleanse, fail, cleanse, fail, cleanse, fail, cleanse, fail, cleanse.
And people think Christian life is like that. It’s not like that. We are not like that. We are cleansed, listen carefully, there’s a bath that’s once and for all. There is a daily washing of our feet where, as right now even, I’m washing away the dust, but it’s not cleansing for your regeneration. It’s a cleansing away the dust that makes you sin-conscious. That makes you feel like, you know, you are an orphan spirit calling God, «Oh God, oh God,» an orphan spirit. No, you must have a spirit of sonship saying, «Abba Father».
Now listen carefully to what I’m going to say, okay? I’m going to say this carefully. When we are in the presence of God, God does not see sin on us. Even though we have sin in us, God does not see sin on us. In terms of our relationship with him, there’s no sin on us. Even though even today, we still have sin in us, but with God, there’s no sin on us in his eyes. You gotta live like that and listen, listen. Don’t clap, you’re taking my time, listen, all right. And you must know that you are constantly in God’s presence. You must know this. We have this idea when we pray, we come near to God. God is still a distance away.
Some people are not at home in God’s presence. If I tell you right now, you are right now in the holy of holies, how do you feel? Pastor Prince, I think the light is too bright. It will expose my… no, if you think that way, you are under the law. You are still under law. You must have this mentality, yes, God is light and the light shines on me, but the light shines on me to show how wonderfully clean I am by the blood of Jesus. How the spotless purity of Jesus has been placed on me. I’m the right hand of God in Christ. His light only exposes the work of Jesus in my life and God wants you to be in his presence, honoring the work of Christ as if there is no sin.
Now I said, I repeat, people like to take some things I say and then run off. There is still sin in us and in Pastor Prince, but there’s no sin on us before God. Okay, you understand that? You see, you don’t have to fight yourself, pump yourself into a prayer mode to pray for people, like you’re driving down the road, an accident or whatever. You don’t have to get right. You don’t have to, you know, you must know you’re always in the holy of holies. When you go to work, you carry the holy of holies with you. You are in the presence of God. You should feel at home. He is Father, you are son, amen. And if you fail, it’s okay to confess your sin to your Father and say, «I did wrong,» or whatever, but don’t wallow in it. I don’t believe in confessing to be forgiven, I believe we are, we confess our sin because we are forgiven.
Now, look at this. This is what I want you to see. This one is more, more serious. It says here, «those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham». But here it says, «For as many,» not one where I skip, «as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.'» Have you ever read this verse slowly? Because many people still think this verse is saying, as many as break the law. It does not say that. It does not say, as many as break the law under the curse. It says, as many as are of the works of the law.
As many are on the law ground. As many as are the principle of the law. Straight away, under the curse. Why, because you are supposed to keep everything. Not just the best of it. Not the best that you can. Not as much as you can. You are supposed to continue in all things. Or else, you are cursed. So the moment you take the position of the law, bang, you’re under the curse. Even a Christian can come under this curse because the word there is present tense. The moment you take the position of the law for blessings, for righteousness, for sanctification, bang, you come under the curse. You’re either righteous by faith or you’re under the curse, the moment you take the position of the law.
If you’re on law ground, you are cursed. There’s no other way, you know, the law cannot be the law. The law is not the law if the law doesn’t curse. The law is not the law if the law bends at your level. The law is the law is the law is the law or else it’s not the law. You have to come up to it’s level and the Lord says you must keep everything or else I’ll curse you. It’s not good enough to say, I did my best, but I guess my best, the Lord doesn’t understand that song. You must continue in all things, otherwise you are cursed. So I submit to people who don’t understand why Pastor Prince is burdened to preach this message and why I believe that the grace revolution is happening all over the world is because God wants his people blessed and not cursed. I’ll tell you something, okay?
If you are thinking that, «Pastor Prince, what about people that you mentioned just now, one or two or a few that comes to church. They’re not majority pastors, but I know of people who left their wives and they go with another woman. They are living in sin. In fact, for nearly a year now or a few months or whatever, Pastor Prince, it sounds like they are having a time of day and they are okay. What do you say to that, Pastor Prince»? You see, we don’t back away from the message because somebody abused it. Let me just say this to you, okay? There are only two reasons I will give you about that scenario. If there’s a so-called Christian who is now living in sin. All right, he left his wife, he’s living in sin, okay. There are only two scenarios. Number one is that he was never a Christian in the first place. «Pastor, he was a deacon in church». I don’t care deacon or a demon, all right. He was never saved.
All right, going to a McDonald’s don’t make you a Big Mac. All right, going to a garage don’t make you a car. Going to church don’t make you a Christian. So I submit to you, most likely he’s not a Christian. Like the pig that went wallowing in the mire in Peter. It’s still a pig, it was never a sheep in the first place. It was a professing Christian, not a possessing eternal life Christian. He was a professor, not a college professor, professor, not a possessor of life, okay? So I submit to you, the first scenario is that such a person might not be saved in the first place. «But Pastor Prince, I really think he is saved». You and I cannot be the judge. We do not know what he believes. He might know the lingo of a Christian, he might, you know.
Okay, that’s the first scenario. What if he’s really a Christian, okay. Then the second scenario comes in. If he’s really a Christian, don’t think he’s having a great time because the Father’s discipline is coming. And when the Father disciplines, I tell you, you don’t want that kind of discipline, but because he loves, he disciplines. I disciplined my son the other day, my four year old Justin, and he was crying and I went to him and I said, «I did this because I love you». He turned to me with eyes, glittering with tears, and he says, literally these are his words, «You know my feelings are hurt». He knows how to express himself. I don’t know where he got it from, but I did my very best not to laugh. He says, «Do you know my feelings are hurt»? And I told him this, «So are mine. My feelings are hurt. It hurts me more to discipline you because I love you». I said, «You’re not like a child in the street that nobody cares about. They grow up anyway they want. No one disciplines them because no one loves them, but for me,» I said, «I love you. That’s why I discipline you».
I don’t think he fully got it at that age. But I tell you this, because God loves, God disciplines. So that scenario, let’s say he’s really a born again Christian and you think he’s enjoying his life and all that. Let me tell you, the way of the transgressor is hard. Your way and my way. His yoke is easy, his burden light. Let me tell you this, they’re not enjoying and the thing is this, the Father will discipline him. And let me tell you this, there are people who teach that God disciplines only through the Word and I believe the primary way God disciplines us, the Father disciplines us, is with his Word. Like right now, do you know that we are being disciplined?
All right, not to even go on law ground, for example. We are learning that. We are always under discipline, right? To become, you know, greater manifestations of and representatives of our Lord, but watch this. When someone lives in sin and God disciplines, it’s not pleasant. Now I believe God doesn’t give them accidents, but I believe it’s not going to be pleasant. A case in point is Jacob. Jacob deceived his father, Isaac, because Isaac was going blind. So, when Isaac was about to give the blessing to the firstborn, Esau, who was hairy, and Jacob was moody, amen. Amen. So he came to his father and he was… remember, he wrapped himself up with the skin of goats. Kids, baby goats, all right, and the father touch him, the father says, «You’re hairy like Esau, but your voice sounds like Jacob». He deceived his father.
Now, was that before the Ten Commandments, yes. Was Jacob under the blessing of Abraham, yes. But was there discipline, oh yes. How did the Father discipline, how did God discipline him? Fast forward many years. His favorite son, Joseph, the one he loved the most, he gave the coat of many colors. One day the brothers came back without the son and the father says, «Where’s Joseph»? And the brothers came carrying the coat, smeared with the blood. Of course, the brother sold him and the brother took the blood of goats, kids. He deceived his father with a kid and now he’s being deceived with the blood of a kid, and they say that, «I think a lion got him, I’m sorry dad. I’m sorry dad,» and he wept and wept, discipline. He lied to his father, his sons lied to him. He deceived his father, he was deceived by Laban, his boss, his father-in-law. So there is discipline. Thank God when you are being disciplined, thank God.
Now, those who teach God only disciplines us with the Word, I got a problem with that because those who need discipline are not in church for the Word. Those who are living in sin, they are not reading the Word. Neither do they want to hearing, hearing Pastor Prince sermons, right. That’s why the Bible says about discipline, chastening. Hebrews, «Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful». Let’s change that to Bible study, okay? See, people say, it’s only through the Word. Now, no Bible study seems to be joyful for the present, but painful, doesn’t fit, right? Doesn’t seem to fit, right? Right, doesn’t seem to fit. No, no, no, the primary way God disciplines us and all of us is through the Word.
Let’s hope it just stays at the Word because if we live in sin, we’re not reading the Word, nor are we exposed to the preaching of the Word, therefore, God disciplines us with circumstances. You might meet a boss who is worse. Your business might go bankrupt. I’m telling you this folks, it makes you realize all of a sudden, you are coming against something that is not natural. So, don’t envy the one who’s living in sin. Now having said that, don’t put yourself under that. You are not under that. But I’m saying if someone is truly born again, the Father will discipline him. Are you with me so far? But friend, we are pursuit in better things of you. You’re not living in sin, are you? You do fall into sin, but you don’t live in sin. A rubber ball, you can pull a rubber ball and stretch it. When you let it go, it bounces back. You are the righteousness of God in Christ.
The devil might pull you sometimes and you fall into sin, but when let go, you always go back because that’s really who you are. A pig falling into the mud, as in Peter was saying that a pig wallowing in the mud. It was a pig to begin with. It never was a sheep that went into the mud. A sheep goes in the mud, it starts crying, it starts bleating. All right, but a pig that goes into the mud, he says, «Yo man, this is life, happy hour! Chop, chop, chop, pork chop! This is life, oink, oink, oink, baby»! You might have an excursion into sin. I don’t encourage you to sin, in fact, don’t have the sin. We understand grace, you don’t have to, but if you do sin, you don’t live in it. You always come back. But if somebody is living in it, let go his wife, go for a peahen somewhere, discipline is coming and I don’t want to be in his shoes, but I still love that disciplines him.
Because it says here, «Nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it». So God will deal with that, okay. But for you and I, we come back to this, Galatians 3 again. Are you of faith, justification by faith, that you are blessed with believing Abraham? Or are you under the works of the law, you are cursed? And it’s so subtle that I want to close by saying this before I show you the final verses, I want to tell you that this is a place that you and I cannot afford to be in. All right, we gotta make sure that, whoa, we are on grace ground. How do you know you are on grace ground? You are able to address God not like a distant, but God is so close. Closer than your hands and feet, than your breath. You are in the holy of holies constantly.
God does not see sin on you, amen. He treats you, amen, like Jesus. He does, we are accepted in the beloved, amen. Are you conscious of that? Do you call God abba or daddy? Father, Father, Abba Father, amen. Do you have a spirit of sonship or a slave? Like the Son going down there, going back to the spirit of slave. No, do you have a spirit of sonship? That’s how you know you’re on grace ground. Are you operating by believing or by doing? Don’t worry about doing. When you believe right, good works will flow. Not dead works, all right, but believing is your mainstay. That’s how you live. Can I have a good amen? And all this because of Jesus. I want to close by telling you this. You know what, Jesus has many names and titles.
I want to close by asking you this. Can anyone tell me this? Jesus has many names and titles, but in the gospels, when he addressed himself more often by this title, what is that title? That Jesus will address himself by this title more than any other title. I mean, he is the Son of David, he is the Messiah, the King of Israel, the True Vine, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Good Shepherd, but of all the titles and the names that he has, Son of God, Son of Man, of all the titles he has, what is one title that he calls himself more often by in the gospels? Son of Man. Why is that so? Because the Son of Man is the title of Messiah. When he comes back again, he will come back as Son of Man to rule from Israel.
The whole earth will come under his dominion and Daniel had a vision and Daniel says, «'I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days,'» the Father God, «'And they brought Him near before Him.'» And see what happens. «'Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.'» His everlasting dominion.
Folks, Jesus is coming back and when he comes back, Christians in hiding will be revealed in glory. Christians who are mocked will appear before God in splendor. The sons of God will be manifested. The curse will be removed from the earth and every knee, whether they believe in him or not, will bow down saying, Jesus Christ is Lord. There will be no more need for hospitals, no more need for policemen. There will be peace, righteousness in all the earth. We’re waiting for that day. He’s coming back, the Bible says very clearly. The first mention of the Son of Man in the Gospels, the very first mention is always something significant. It says here, «Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.'»
This is the first mention in the New Testament of the Son of Man, very significant. «Nowhere to lay His head». He who flung the stars into space, he made the universe, «By him all things were made». Nothing was not made by him. Everything was created by him and yet, he has nowhere to lay his head. He came as a servant. When I think about this, I’m humbled that the Lord of Glory came down as a man because in order to die for us to be our substitute. Don’t you love him? But the Father in heaven will see to it that all the rejection of man, all the mockery of man, all the sufferings he went through, will be vindicated. The Father will see to it that the head that had nowhere to lay will be a head crowned. Watch this, the last mention of Jesus’s head.
The first mention is «nowhere to lay his head,» first mention. The last place in the New Testament where you see Jesus’s head is this, Revelation. «Then I look, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown». You and I will see that, folks. The Father will see to it for every humiliation, for every, you know, step down, there will be a step up. For everything that he has suffered for us, shame, the Father will crown with glory in the area, and you who suffer with him like David and his men.
David was supposed to be king, but David suffered as a king, being persecuted and hunted down, amen. Living in caves and foxholes and places like that and finally, when the day came, he was crowned. All his mighty men were also with him in glory because they were with him in persecution. So when people make fun of you as a believer, mock you, every time you are humiliated, every time there’s shame, God will see to it you are vindicated. When he appears in glory, you appear with him in glory, amen. The blood that he shed has made us righteous. The world is blind, pity them, amen. But don’t let your heart feel like, you know, the world is out there, they’re having fun and you are down here. No, we are enjoying true life, abundant life, amen. Praise the name of Jesus, hallelujah.