Joseph Prince - Right Believing Unlocks God's Blessings
The new covenant is all about believing, amen. Therefore, the lack of blessing in a believer’s life is a symptom of what? Not a lack of devotion but a lack of faith, unbelief. Somewhere in some area of our life we don’t believe. We are operating by sight. We are operating by our senses. Are you all listening? 2 Corinthians 4, verse 13. We’ve been using this and the Holy Spirit doesn’t seem to let me go from this, and I think that your life is going to be transformed; amen? 2 Corinthians 4, «And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believe and therefore have I spoken, '» amen, «we also believe and therefore speak». Now, it’s a very simple thing. Faith is a very simple thing. You believe in your heart and you speak it out of your mouth. Say it again. I believe, I speak. Say, «I believe, I speak».
Now, some believers, they believe. They believe good things about what God says about them. They believe that, «With long life God satisfies me». They believe that by the stripes of Jesus they’re healed. They believe that God has promised them a wonderful family, amen. The Bible says your wife shall be as a fruitful vine, your children like olive plants around the table. They believe that, but they don’t say it. They don’t say it. What they say sometimes is complaining or they murmur, but they say they believe that. And I agree there’s a mental essence to it, but faith is not released in their lives. They think they have faith because they believe in their heart; but the Bible doesn’t say the spirit of faith is I believe and I believe, therefore we also believe and believe. No, I believe and therefore I speak.
Jesus says out of the abundance, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth, manifests, good things in their life. Long before you see good things in your life, it is in your heart. If it’s not in your heart, you will never see it outside. Amen. Whether you are sick, the doctors give you a bad report, amen, and that vision of your X-ray or your MRI scan or whatever it is, it’s still before you and all that instead of God’s Word that by the stripe of Jesus you are healed. You don’t see yourself healed. When you read Psalms 91, you don’t let it be a vision inside you. You must believe that God’s Word transcends every other word. Amen. God cannot lie. Not that God will not, God cannot.
So there are a few things God cannot do. God cannot lie. That’s in the New Testament. God cannot lie. He’s unable to lie. So you can trust his Word. So it’s one thing to believe, it’s another thing to speak. And then we have believers who speak all the time. They say that, you know, they are blessed, that kind of thing, but they don’t believe it in their hearts. Amen. So if your believing is a problem, you know what you do? Let me share with you a secret. For many years God promised Abraham already and for many years Abraham was without a child with his proper wife Sarah, okay? But 25 years before, God promised him he would have a child, right? Think about it. More than 20 years pass, they don’t see the child; but God promised, «In your seed all the nations will be blessed».
So obviously he will have a seed, okay? But nothing happened, nothing happened. So one night God brought Abraham out of the tent and God told Abraham, «Look at the stars». Something happened when God told him to look at the stars. At the same time, God promised him, «Your descendants will be like the stars. That’s how many children you will have». All of a sudden, the stars changed faces and they were screaming, «Father Abraham, abba, abba». So many stars, right? If you go to the Middle East, especially in the Dead Sea area where Abraham was, near that area, if you look up, all right, the stars are amazing. When there’s no light anywhere, the stars are so numerous you can’t even count them.
Even today with a telescope and all that, with all the modern technology, we still cannot number the stars. And the Bible says in the same phrase where it says God heals the broken in heart in Psalms, he counts the number of stars. God counts the number of stars. He knows the number of hair on your head, and he heals the broken in heart. Imagine God putting these verses together. The one who counts the stars heals your heart. He’s not so high and mighty that he cannot come down to your level. He loves you more than anyone can ever love you. Friend, you think that no one else knows the struggle you go through. It is too shameful for you to share. It is too private, whatever. But he knows. But best of all, he knows the way out. He knows how to bring you to that place of deliverance. He knows how to bring you to the place of abundance. He’s the good shepherd.
When he is your good shepherd, he will always cause you never to be in want. He will make you lie down in green pastures, amen, abundance all around. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Come on. Come on, church. So now watch this. God changed what? When he saw the children screaming out, «Father Abraham, Father Abraham,» what happened to his heart? His heart began to be filled with children. Doesn’t even have one child. Doesn’t even have one kid, but his heart began to be filled. He looked around, «Oh, Father Abraham, Father Abraham». «Sarah, Sarah, we’re going to be parents of multitudes, multitudes». And he looked around and his heart was being changed. Let me tell you something. God never changed his name until God changed his heart because you got to believe before you speak.
So God filled his heart first with children. God filled, he want, he’s believe, now, whatever you are believing God for… you are believing God for a breakthrough in your business. You are believing God for a family that is more harmonious, more blessed than it is right now. You don’t like to come home because you find there’s a lot of strife at home. Well, you know what? Faith can change that, if you go by God’s way. So God changed his heart before God changed his speech. Because in Genesis 17 after the stars, his heart was meditating on the stars much earlier for 20 years. He started meditating on the fact, his heart was filled with belief that he’s going to be a father, then God changed his mouth. «Now call yourself differently». You know when God did that? Genesis 17, which is many years after God showed him the stars, which means God changed his heart and he had to meditate on it. He had to meditate on it, meditate on God’s promises.
What are you meditating on, the report of the doctor? What are you meditating on, amen, all the things that your boss said to you, all the things that your so-called opponents are saying to you? Amen? Or your critics are saying to you? Are you listening to those things? Are you listening to the report of the world? Whose report will you believe? Who has believed our report? We will believe the report of the Lord. Can I have a good amen? So God changed his heart. And then in Genesis 17, one year before Isaac came… think about it. One year before Isaac came, God changed his mouth and God says, «From now on, your heart is full of belief. Now change what you are saying about yourself. Don’t call yourself Avram, call yourself Avraham, which means father of many; and Sarai will be changed to Sarah, which means a queen, a princess, a mother of multitude».
So by the way, Abraham was 99 years old when God told him that and Sarah was 89. And when they changed their speech, they started calling one another father of many. You know, you can imagine even right now if I tell you all, you know, one another, right, to say something about each other that you don’t see by sight, you can’t see the appearance of it, you can’t see anything outwardly. You still see the lump. You see the tumor. You see the report and all that, you’ll start laughing and say, you know, «This is just fiction. This is just…» Actually, the other way is true. God’s ways are eternal. Whatever you can see is temporal. You can see it, it won’t last. But for you, «If I can see it, it is real. It will last forever». No, my friend. Even your dollars that you hold in your hand, it is temporal. Even they change the pictures also as time goes by, you know, if you can see it, it will change.
«But, Pastor Prince, I can see your body. Is our body forever? Aren’t we saved eternal life»? No, this flesh won’t be going up in heaven. So praise God I can celebrate birthdays. I don’t care, amen. Because when Jesus comes again, all of us, whether those in the grave or those of us who are alive, all our bodies will change. That’s why I’m saying whatever you can see is temporal. 2 Corinthians tell us that. You can see it, it’s temporal. You can’t see it, it’s eternal. «Pastor Prince, I don’t have a life partner yet». Can you see it, no life partner? Temporal problem. Amen. «I look at my available balance, every time I withdraw my money from the ATM, I look at the available balance and I get very discouraged». You can see it, temporal.
So the spirit of faith, 2 Corinthians 4, it’s all from 2 Corinthians, by the way. It tells us we release faith by speaking. But watch this. Abraham for years had his heart full of the stars and… who are the stars? His seed. Because that’s what he’s believing God for. Amen. Are you listening, people? And does he have attacks? Yes. Even God promised Abraham. The manifestation didn’t come immediately. But we got to walk in Abrahamic faith. Abraham considered not his own body. He didn’t consider sensations. He did not consider the natural facts, which is a man of 100 years old cannot produce, a woman of 89 cannot produce. Amen. Both have gone through meno- and women-opause, okay?
So we see them at this age not considering the natural facts, considering God’s Word, and God changed their speech. Within 1 year of their speech being changed, they are now walking in the spirit of faith. «I believe. Therefore I speak. I believe. I’m a father of many. Sarah, you are a mother of many». Amen? «You are a princess». Keep on calling her princess, you know what happened to her? The Bible says God changed her youthfulness because God had to. Physically she already passed menopause. And not only that, when she was younger she was one of the women that was barren. She cannot bear, and God changed her.
The Bible says through faith, listen, Hebrews 11, through faith Sarah received strength to conceive seed. Did you hear that? That strength is called dunamis, where you get the word dynamite in the Greek. Through faith she received strength. Amen. Are you listening? Not through Botox. Her youth wasn’t renewed. Nothing wrong with Botox, okay? You have tox or you… Botox, doesn’t matter. Amen? Just trust God. Through faith she received strength, she received strength to conceive seed. Did you hear that? Through what? Because she judged him faithful, that promise. Hallelujah. She judged him faithful, but she did laugh. When she first heard that she was going to have a baby, she laughed and Abraham also laughed. Both of them laughed. So they called the boy Laughter. Isaac means laughter. Yitzhak, it means laughter because both of them were yitzhaking. They both laughed when God said.
So it doesn’t mean, faith doesn’t mean you have, you know, you’re so stoic that you never even waver and all that. You can laugh about it, but after that walk from then on with faith, encourage each other in faith. And how’s the spirit of faith manifested? I believe first and I speak. Can I have a good amen? Believe and speak. You know, Proverbs tells us death and life are in the power of the tongue. Do we have that up here? Death and life are in the power of the tongue. And if you love it, whatever you love, you love to talk about death, you will eat the fruit of it. If you love to talk about life, you will eat the fruit of it. Every show, almost every show that comes out, movie and all that, the values of the world, is about death. The more violent, the more, you know, terrible the serial murderer is, it attracts the flesh in men.
Men is full, they love it. Watch it. If you love it, you will eat the fruit of it. You will start talking death. Who programmed this into the language? Who programmed oldness into the language? The Bible says God satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Amen. Psalm 103, «Who satisfies your mouth with good things…» Watch it. Your mouth, what you say, what you say. «So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s». By the way, in the Hebrew the word youth there is from young boy to adolescence. It’s not young men, your adolescent age. Amen? Watch it. If you are young again, you’ll start having pimples, right? But there’s a time when you’re strongest, you feel. And there’s a promise that God gave, I want to use your faith here in one area.
Last few weeks we’ve been showing you faith number one area is for righteousness. You’ve got to believe. In the midst of symptoms of sin in your body, in your mind, in the midst of it you got to say, «I am the righteousness of God in Christ». Don’t give in to it. Amen. In fact, you feel the temptation come, confess it, «I’m the righteousness of God in Christ». You don’t have to say it out loud, but you can say it, in your heart, in your mind, say it. If you’re in an environment where you can’t say it out loud, just say it in your heart and mind, «I’m the righteousness of God in Christ». And don’t hang around there, walk away. Amen? Praise God. Amen. «I’m the righteousness of God in Christ». Confess it. Confess before the temptation, during the temptation. Even after you fall into it, confess it. But because you confess it, many a times you find you don’t even have to fall into it. There’s a power that comes in when you realize your true identity. Can I have a good amen?
So we must confess, «I’m the righteousness of God in Christ». «I believe, Pastor Prince, I believe that». But do you confess it? Do you say it, «I am the righteousness of God in Christ,» especially when you are tempted or when you are feeling the condemnation come on you, all right? You’re not condemned, but you feel the guilt and the shame. What do you do? Confess, «I’m the righteousness of God in Christ». When you are angry and you had a quarrel with your spouse, confess, all right, «I’m the righteousness of God in Christ». All of a sudden you find you’ll be able to treat your wife right, your husband right. Amen.
How many understand the spirit of fear works the same way? You believe and then you speak. «I do not know, I’m feeling this pain and all that. You know, my grandfather died of this, my father died of this, and I’m… I fear». Stop it. Why don’t you start meditating on God’s words on the Scriptures, «With long life will I satisfy him». All the Scriptures that we have given you, and then start saying, «I see myself well. I see myself, you know, I don’t know what happened to my grandfather». All right. «I can’t go back there and resurrect him now, but you know something? Thank God that I can do something in my own life».
Do you know something? The Bible says if anyone is in Christ he’s a new creation. Old things, old things, from your father even, are passed away. All things are become new. New Creation Church, you better listen. This is your verse: 2 Corinthians 5:17. So why does it say without faith it’s impossible to please God? God loves the spirit of faith. Why? Because fear is believing the words of the devil. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word. Fear comes by believing, so you must know one thing. Whenever you are in fear, whatever it is, you are actually submitting and believing another than God. You cannot just say, «My problem is that I’m a very fearful person». No, somewhere along the way, that fear came in. You better know there is a devil, and fear is always the modus operandi of the devil. Amen?
You know, Jesus says something very, very profound in Matthew 8. We’ll come back to this again. Matthew 8, Jesus says this: «Go your way,» he said to the centurion, «as you have believed,» as you have believed. We’ll underline it, okay, for this verse. «As you have believed, so let it be done for you». As you have believed. Now, he didn’t say, «As you have believed right, so right results will happen to you». He didn’t say that. As you have believed. «Pastor Prince, all that you are preaching and all that is a bunch of nonsense».
As you have believed, so be it done to you. «I don’t believe that what I say…» As you have believed, so be it done to you. God didn’t say you believe right or believe wrong. So the promise that… Jesus also said out of the good treasure you bring forth good things, out of the evil treasure you bring forth evil things. The quality of your life today is the result of your believing and speaking in the past. Amen? Without faith it’s impossible to please God, and there’s something about faith that God will ignore everybody else. If you have faith, he will zero-in on you and focus on you. Faith pleases God like none other.
«But, Pastor Prince, I give money to the charity». That’s good, but you can do it without faith, amen, it profits you nothing. Faith is trusting what God says is true, not what the enemy says, not what your feelings says, not what appearances say. We walk by faith and not by sight. Without faith it’s impossible to please God. Friend, watch your heart for out of it are the issues of life. Guard your heart. It’s a treasure. Jesus says a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. Brings forth means he brings it out in the open. An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things.
So, friend, don’t try to change your wife, don’t try to change your husband. Look to God to change your heart. You already have a new heart, a heart of flesh. God’s promptings are in your heart. Listen to that. But God is on the wavelength of faith and not fear. So one of the best ways to look at your heart to understand… you cannot look at your heart, by the way, without the Holy Spirit. So ask the Lord to show you the areas that you are fearful. Are you fearful that one day something bad will happen to your children? Because you’ve been seeing too much on Facebook images of death happening to people to whom you thought are good people, that’s how the fear came in.
Ask yourself, «What area of fear or worry is in my heart»? Look at that area and then ask the Lord. You cannot do this by yourself. You must do it with the Holy Spirit. Ask the Lord to show you how it came in, and sometimes he may tell you you’re watching too much documentaries or you’re watching too much crime series or whatever. You’re watching too much of this crime series or whatever. It’s causing fear. But you might think it’s not related. «It’s just a movie. I know it». But subconsciously your inner man is imbibing it.
And you know that you have neglected the Word of God for some time, you have not been spending time and now you wonder why you are dry, why you are fearful, why you are anxious. Tell the Lord, give you a fresh desire. His delight is in the Word of God, the law of the Lord; and in his Word, his law doth he meditate day and night. That man who delights in God’s Word, that woman who meditates on God’s Word day and night shall be like a tree planted. And by the way, it says his leaf will not fail. Amen?