Joseph Prince - How Words Shape Your Future
Romans 10 is a very beautiful passage of Scripture. It tells us even how to be saved. Not only that, it is a message for believers and unbelievers as well. It starts with verse 4, «Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes». Now, this word, the end, is the word for terminus. Come to an end. There is a finishing line. Christ is the end of the law, okay? Are you listening? Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. If you come to the law, you cannot be justified by Christ. You are fallen from grace, okay? It’s either Christ justifies you, Christ makes you holy, Christ sanctifies you, Christ heals you, Christ keeps you, Christ loves you. He is our all in all.
You cannot have two masters. You cannot have, you know, Jesus as the forgiver of sins and then you try to keep Mr. Law, all right? And then when you fail, you go to Jesus for forgiveness. That’s called spiritual adultery. Please read Romans 7. That’s not my message today, all right? My message is actually going on from verse 4, verse 5, «For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law». Now, look at this very carefully, «The man who does those things shall live by them». Next verse, «But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, 'Do not say in your heart, „Who will ascend into heaven“? ' (that is, to bring Christ down from above)»
I want you to memorize this if you can. Look at the language here. He’s actually quoting from the Old Testament, okay? He’s quoting from Deuteronomy 30. «Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven? ' (that is, to bring Christ down from above)» So, do not say, «Who will bring Christ down from above»? Some people, you know, they say, «I’m so sick, I wish I can bring Christ down from heaven. I know he’s now bodily at the Father’s right hand». You don’t have to say that. Why? Keep on reading, «Or, 'Who will descend into the abyss? ' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)».
Some people don’t believe he’s raised from the dead and they are trying to go back to the past, okay? Verse 8, «But what does it say? 'The word, '» the word of salvation, the word of faith, «'is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.'» It is first in your mouth then it drops into your heart. Remember this, whatever you confess, you speak words of faith or words of fear, it will finally drop into your heart. The word of faith, first of all, where is it? «'In your mouth and in your heart.' (that is, the word of faith which we preach). That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved».
Now, let’s look at Deuteronomy 30, all right? It says, «For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off». Next, «It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us,» what is this it? «'That we may hear it, and do it»? Look at the verse before this, verse 11, «This commandment». So, what was the law, Christ fulfilled it. Are you listening? Today, we don’t have to say, what is the law we need to do? All right? It is not two tablets of stone, but a living Lord to follow, amen? So, we go back to verse 12, «It is not in heaven, Who shall go up for…» same language, «Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it».
Just now, you don’t have hear it and do it. You only have speak it and believe it. The law is hear it and do it. Faith is speak it, believe it and you will see it. So let’s all say, «Lord Jesus, I thank you. By your stripes I am healed. I thank you. You took the crown of thorns, and I receive your unshakable, wonderful peace, amen». See, Moses failed to do that. God told Moses, «Speak, just speak. Moses, speak. Just speak to the rock». Moses, representing the law, is about doing. He hit the rock. God wasn’t pleased. So today, Jesus is ascended. Just speak. If you are sick, «Lord, by your stripes I’m healed,» amen?
So, drop down, verse 14, «The Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it». For us, it’s not doing it. For us, it’s speak it. You see the difference? And it’s not the law, it’s Christ now. Whatever is of Christ, speak it. And then, «See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil;» I want all of us to read verse 15, «See, I have said before you this day life and good,» on one side, «death and evil,» on the other side. So speak. Speak life. Speak good days, all right? Life and good, okay? Remember we get the word life and good together in the Bible? The famous psalm. Psalm 34, «At all times I will bless him: his praise will be…»
Psalm 34 says, «Come children now, I’ll teach you the fear of the Lord». Psalm 34, all right? «Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good»? You see life and good together, all right? Peter quotes this in 1 Peter 3. He says, «He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, his lips from speaking deceit». And amazing, it’s all in Deuteronomy 30 where it says, «The Word is near you in your mouth and in your heart». It’s all got to do with your mouth. Man, if you say, «It’s going to be a lousy year,» all right, watch it. We in New Creation Church, after we learned this, we can now use our words and say, «Good days are ahead of us».
Again, I love doing this, okay? So, those of you who have heard me doing this before, all right? Never mind, you got a life. Okay, watch this. «Good daysssss». When it comes against the enemy, the enemy comes against you, in Ephesians 6, «Stand therefore with the armor of God that you might withstand the enemy in the evil day». «Good daaaays,» «evil day». Your attacks are short. Your blessings are long. Your evil day is singular. Your good days are plenty. How many of you say amen. Use your mouth and believe in your heart. Come on, people, give Jesus the praise and the glory. All right, let’s take this one step further, all right? I want to tell you this. This is important for you to get this.
Let’s go to 2 Corinthians chapter 6. God says, «In an acceptable time I have heard you,» by the way, I need to show you this. Jesus says, «I’ve come to preach the acceptable year of the Lord». Remember a few years ago, the theme of the year was «The Acceptable Year of Favor», right? The dektos year of the Lord. Remember that? All right, go back again to Luke 4 just now, okay? «To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,» is dektos in Greek, all right? Dektos. Now dektos, according to Thayer, the Greek scholar, he says like this. Dektos is defined as «the most blessed time when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound».
How cool is that? Amen. Dektos is most blessed time. Not just time. Most blessed time when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound. We are still in that season. We are still in that dispensation of grace. So get your doctrine right. Some people want to preach from the Old Testament, all right? They might say you go back and join Jeremiah. And Isaiah. That’s not it. And some people say, «Well, you grace people don’t preach from the Old Testament». Sorry, most of my preaching has come from the Old Testament with Hebrew, okay? Are you with me so far?
All right, watch this. It says, go back to 2 Corinthians 6, «In an acceptable time I have heard you,» in a dektos time I have heard you, «And in the day of salvation,» soteria, «I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation». So, watch this now. God says to notice that when the time came to write to the church. The church is already in the dektos year. So, what Paul is saying is this, in this dektos time, most blessed time, when God’s favors, free favors profusely abound. People, you don’t have to wait for a time to be healed. You don’t have to wait for a season to be blessed. There’s no more seasons and times, all right? As far as God is concerned, now is the dektos time.
Now is the day of salvation. And «now,» in Greek «nun,» is the word for present. Now. Now is your healing. So some people, they have this, «Well, you know, Pastor Prince, no one can tell whether their sins are forgiven until the day they are, you know, on their bed before they go to be with the Lord». Oh so sad for you. You’re not reading the Bible. In fact, you are coming against the Bible. The Bible says everywhere you find forgiveness of sins. It tells you, Jesus told the woman, «Your sins be forgiven you». Present tense.
Paul preached in Pisidia Antioch, and he told the people by him, all who believe are justified. Present tense, from all things. Peter preached in Cornelius’s house, «To him all the prophets give witness that through his name it’s preached to you,» present tense. The forgiveness of sins. We have a present tense forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins is not future. And there are groups that teach you no one can tell. That is of the devil. God wants you to know, these things are written that you might know that you have eternal life. And there are those who teach that you are safe as long as you want to be safe. That’s nonsense.
Once you are safe, you are safe with eternal life. Or else what is eternal? You have eternal life until you sin it away. Then what sin? Next question. It always leaves you in insecurity. «No, no, no. I know Jesus said no one can pluck the believer out of the Father’s hand. But he can jump out». You know how stupid it sounds? You know how stupid it sounds? It’s almost like God leaves his hand open and you go, «Oh you jumped out. I didn’t see that. It just came so fast, man». Well, when you were a sinner, can you jump out of your sinnership and be a saint? When you were a sinner, can you jump out from being a sinner? What makes you think you can jump out from being a saint? You ask for it, you accept Christ, you are saved in eternal life. Now it’s too late.
Just when Adam sinned, we say, «It’s not fair». It’s too late. Yes, Adam sinned. I can’t go back and tell him don’t. By his sin, he made all of us sinners. By Christ’s obedience, he made all of us righteous. Amen. You are forever righteous. That doesn’t mean you won’t sin. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to learn about the ways of the Lord and how to live a life that glorifies his name. Of course. But the fact remains, your standing cannot change. Your behavior can change, but never judge your standing by your behavior. Always judge your behavior by your standing. And if you’re not secure in your standing, how can you judge your behavior? If I do not know you love me, will I trust you with my weakness? Do you think I’ll confess my sins to you if I don’t trust that you love me?
We can only be open with people when we know they will still love us. But the kind of preaching you hear today doesn’t give security to the believer. No wonder people are not honest about their sins, amen? The only way to judge your temper, your anger, and all that is to know that you’re secure in Christ. The standing cannot change. So, judge your behavior by your standing. Say, «Joseph Prince, this is not you. You’re a prince. You’re a child of God. You are God’s beloved. You’re better than this».
So, what time is it? It’s a time when God hears you. It’s a time when God helps you. So, there was a time the Jewish people say, you know, «If you pray at a certain time during the Yom Kippur, when all your sins are confessed, then God will hear you. And then you want God’s help? Then God will help you». Paul is saying, «No, no». We are now in the season where now God hears you. Now when you pray, God hears you. Now God helps you. What kind of help you need? Now, God helps you, all right? Look at this, Acts chapter 3. I’m winding down now. Have you all learned some Word? Are you all blessed?
Turn to your wife or your spouse or your friend beside you and say, «Man, this year is filled with good days». Amen. Shout good days. Shout life. Amen? Not death and evil. Not death and evil. Life and good. I love it. Life and good. Life, life and good. Do you know that life is always in the Hebrew in plural? Hayim. There’s an «im» there, which is the s, like the plural. Life is always written as plural in Hebrew. «L’chaim,» when they raise the toast, you know, when they drink. They say, «L’chaim,» to life. But death, most of the time is written in singular. You know why? 'Cause we have abundant life. All kinds of life. And eternal life. The life of God. One year, they found out that the Jewish, the land of Israel, the present modern-day Israel, has the largest population of healthy people.
So, they went to investigate why is that so. They thought maybe it’s their kosher food, but they found out not everyone eats kosher. They thought maybe they exercise a lot. Many of them, you can tell by the way they look. So, they say, «What is it»? Amazingly, all right? Unbelieving scientists, they say there’s something about them. They always gather together during the Shabbat and they will always say this, «To life,» l’chaim. They keep on saying life. So, maybe there’s something to that. I think there’s something to that. The power of life and death and life is in the power of the tongue. To life and many good days, amen? Okay, let me bring this to a close.
All right, «Peter and John went up together to the temple, the hour of prayer, the ninth hour,» ninth hour, listen carefully, all right, is the time of 3 o’clock in the afternoon, okay? Now, look at me. Imagine this is a clock, okay? It’s divided into four portions, okay? Watch this, all right? All the way here, okay? Now, when you come to this side here, 6 o’clock, third hour is 9 o’clock in the morning. Sixth hour is 12 o’clock, okay? three more hours, the ninth hour is 3 p.m. So this is 3 p.m. It was the hour of prayer for the Jewish people, even in the Old Testament. They go to the temple at that time, they pray. Now, I’m not knocking that, I’m just telling you this. What Paul is saying today after Christ has accomplished all this for us, there’s no more the Jewish time of prayer.
Remember in Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist was inside, the people gathered outside at the time of incense, the time of prayer. Are you with me? Today there’s no more. Now you can pray at all times, amen? By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. Pray without ceasing, amen. All right? And you know what happened? A certain man was lame, God healed. All right, let me show you another passage. Chapter 10, Cornelius, all right? He was a devout man. He was an Italian, a Roman Centurion. «A devout man and one who feared God».
Now, he learned to pray, guess from who? The Jewish people, all right? He was in a Jewish country, in Caesarea. He learned prayer. So, guess when he prayed? The Bible says he prayed to God always. When it says always means what? Every day at 9 o’clock in the morning and 3 p.m. is the hour of prayer. That’s the time they believe that God will hear their prayers. Do you know why? Because 9 o’clock in the morning, the first lamb is killed at the temple. And 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the second lamb is killed in the temple. So, when the lamb’s blood is shed, they believe what? Their sins are covered by the blood and the incense and the sweet odor of the innocent lamb with their prayers goes to God and God hears them and God answers their prayer. Are you with me so far? Okay, watch this now, all right?
Verse 3, «About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God,» how come the angel came at 3 o’clock exactly? Is it because he’s observing all this? No. Guess what? He was praying at that time. So, the angel came when he was praying. Are you with me so far? Now, what am I trying to say? I’m trying to tell you something happened that changed time. You know why? Because when Jesus was crucified, when they nailed him in Mark chapter 15, «Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him».
Remember the clock? Third hour is what? 6 a.m. The third hour is 9 in the morning. They nailed Jesus to the cross. Now, the place where they nailed Jesus, remember, is Mount Moriah and Calvary. Calvary is just on the same ridge, the highest part of Mount Moriah. When they nailed Jesus, the first nail went in, all right? They could hear the trumpet sound in the temple which means they killed the first lamb. He was fulfilling the types. Just imagine the first nail went in, pom, then you hear the sound of the trumpet. Then the nail, and the trumpet blew again. And then the nail, and the trumpet blew again. I’m sure that even the Roman soldiers are thinking, «What timing»? Amen?
Now, in Matthew 27, «Now from the sixth hour,» what time is that? 12 noon, «Until the ninth hour,» 3 p.m., «there was darkness over all the land». When he was born at night, midnight became midday when the angels filled the sky and said, «Glory to God». They was singing, «Peace on earth, good will to man». When he was crucified, midday became midnight so that you and I can always walk in the light. Amen, church? Praise the Lord. Come on, church. «And about the ninth hour,» about the ninth hour, just before the ninth hour, before 3 o' clock, «he cried out,» all right? One of his last cries, My God, my God, «Eli, Eli, lama Sabachthani,» «My God, my God, why have you forsaken me»?
So, we can cry, «Father, Father, why have you blessed me»? Amen? And he died at the ninth hour. Exactly 3 p.m., he died. Gave up the spirit fulfilling, and when he died, the moment he died, the Bible says, something happened to the centurion. The Bible says, «Centurion saw the earthquake». Not only that, the temple was blowing the trumpet for the next lamb that was killed as the evening sacrifice. What I’m trying to say is this, today we don’t have to wait for 3 p.m. Every answered prayer, the reason God hears us, the reason we are helped, the reason we have answered prayer, we’re not like the heathens, all right, who pray and nothing happens. We pray, God hears us. We pray, God helps us. The reason now is the accepted time. Now God hears us. Now God helps us. The reason we have that is all predicated on the fact that it’s all based on the finished work. It’s based on Jesus Christ.