Joseph Prince - Remember This When You Mess Up
Jesus said, «The thief,» who is the devil, «comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly,» amen. So who is the one that’s stealing from us? That is killing and that’s destroying? The Bible says it’s the devil. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and today, we’re going to see his primary way of… his modus operandi, to see how he operates against you, but we need to understand how the devil works because we will be aware of those areas and then we know how to avoid it. The Bible says we are not ignorant of his devices. Whatever the Bible tells us not to be ignorant of, we are not to be ignorant of. Like he writes, «Be not ignorant of spiritual gifts».
So we should not be ignorant of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So we should not be ignorant of Satan and his devices, but there’s a question. If he’s a accuser, right, what’s the big deal about accusation? Like, if he comes to accuse you, he comes to accuse you, I always think of it that way. When someone is accused, what I can see is that they feel bad. His number one weapon is accusation. He is called accuser. Do you think that accusation is just to make you feel bad? Is there something about accusation that we don’t know? Could it be that on the heels of accusation, there is a punishment attached to it? Not from God, but there is a sentence. In other words, what are you saying when you are accused, when you are accused and you feel guilty? And don’t forget, the devil is not stupid, you know. He doesn’t always come and tell lies about you.
In his accusation, a master deceiver will put a lot of truth and some lie, okay? So many of the things he accuses us of are things that we have done wrong. Things that we have not done right. So he’s not stupid. He knows that you can see through a clear lie, but when he comes to you and he accuse you, and you become, you receive it, albeit unconscious even. If you receive it and you feel guilty, how do I know you accept it? Because now you feel guilty, you feel bad. Not only that, you feel shame, which a believer should never feel, and then, not only that, you feel depressed. It might not be to the extent of chronic depression where you need medication, but depression. You have dark thoughts. You are anxious. You are worried. I don’t care how much of grace you understand. I don’t care how long you’ve been in this church.
If you still feel fearful, anxious and all that, to that extent, and I preach that to myself, to that extent, some things have not dropped from here to here. You need to keep on hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing the Word. Something about our flesh which is very legalistic. Ten sermons on grace, the eleventh week, you hear something that’s a mixture, you can forget all the ten. It’s the propensity of the flesh. We need to keep on hearing, okay? So what is it about accusation that is so bad? It’s this, when you receive accusation, albeit unconscious, you’re actually saying, «Jesus, you didn’t do a good job. God, you’re not satisfied with the sacrifice. Devil, you are right».
That is what you are saying when you accept the accusation. With the accusation comes the sentence. Sickness, disease, aging. It all comes on the heels of the accusation. That’s why in the Hebrew, the word sin, «chattaah,» and the word sin offering is also «chattaah». Same word, same spelling, same word. You know, you thought that, and sometimes the translators, in some Bibles, they say this verse is sin offering, some say it’s sin. They are not too sure. A sin offering crouches at the door or is it a sin is waiting to spring on him? So, it, like, scholars themselves are not sure because the Hebrew word for sin and sin offering is the same word. So I asked the Lord some time back and the Lord said to me, «Because every time sin is involved, inevitably there will be a sin offering».
Whether the sin offering of God’s provision, which is Christ who became our sin offering. If you see Jesus Christ as your sin offering when you sin, your conscience will go at rest. You will see it’s paid for, amen. Not only that, it has a sanctifying effect that you will not continue in that sin, amen. It will set you free. Not only that, it will cause you to love God because you see the sin offering, you see the love of God for you. You see the provision of God, but if you don’t relate it to the cross when you sin, you will pay a sin offering. Somebody has to pay. Something has to give. Whenever you sin, there is something. God made you, you know, you’re a person, spirit, soul, and body.
When man partook of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it’s conscience that he got, and that conscience, the Bible says, is like the Ten Commandments. It tells you that you deserve now to be destroyed. You deserve to have the bad things in life, all right. The bad breaks and all that. You deserve to be sick. Your child will come down sick, and something inside you will say, «You deserve it». You know why? People are not at rest. They are not at peace. So I’m going to show you right now this verse of scripture. It’s got to do with food and drinking wine, okay. So in Romans 14, verse 21 talks about, if you drink wine and your brother doesn’t believe in drinking wine, please don’t drink wine in his presence because you will stumble him.
All right, if your brother doesn’t believe in eating meat, don’t eat meat in his presence. Don’t do that, you will stumble him. Okay, love is more important than your right to eat meat or drink wine. Are you with me so far? Then it says, «Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves». The whole context here, keep to the context, we are talking about food, and yet we can learn something. «But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin». Now, I’ll tell you why a lot of people don’t handle this verse. You know why? Because they can’t handle the, «He who doubts is condemned».
So those who don’t believe in the gospel of grace and the efficacy of the blood of Jesus to save us forever, they will say, «Condemn is go to hell». You mean go to hell for food? It’s an easy answer. So is this condemnation from God? No, it’s not! Let me tell you unequivocally, clear, like a clarion call, this condemnation is there, but it’s not from God! Let me prove that once and for all. Same word, this word, condemned, is the Greek word, «katakrino,» and this word is used in Romans 8 to say, «Who is he who condemns»? katakrino, condemned here is katakrino. Same word! «It is Christ who died, and furthermore, is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us». They say that the Greek structure of this is actually like this. «Who is he who condemns? Will Christ condemn us? No, he is the one who died for us. He rose again for us and is making intercession for us».
So, there’s no condemnation for the believer. It’s not from God. So what is this «katakrino»? When you… in the Bible, go back to the passage again. The Bible says, «Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; whatever is not from faith is sin». There must be something. Let’s say he doesn’t believe in eating meat, but someone persuades him to eat meat. His conscience bothers him. Or drinking wine. Okay, someone says, «It’s okay, it’s okay, you know, just drink». He drinks and it condemns him. Is it just that he feels bad? Then the word condemn, «katakrino,» the word «kata» is this, it’s an intensified form.
It’s serious matter. It’s not to hell. That means he might come down with some depression or disease or whatever because he’s feeling guilty. He’s condemning himself for eating, but we are such creatures that are so vulnerable to accusation that even in this era, the Bible says that if you doubt when you eat, you come under the sentence, «katakrino,» that’s outside there already. The same word, «katakrino» is used when God says, «Partake of the Lord’s Supper, worthily,» because God doesn’t want you to be condemned, «katakrino,» with the world. So in the context, the condemnation is that God doesn’t want you to die before your time. God doesn’t want you to be sick, because this is the «katakrino» that’s outside there in the world.
In the world, it’s normal to be sick or to die before your time, but in the context of the Lord’s Supper, God has given you a provision where you don’t have to be sick, you can be healed. Where you don’t have to be weak, you can be strong. Where you don’t have to fall asleep before your time, but you can live long. So God doesn’t want us, in the same passage, to be condemned, «katakrino,» with the world. Now, is that from God? No, it came with a sentence. When Adam sinned there is a «katakrino» released in this world, amen, but long before he can steal, kill, and destroy, because he need to affirm. Yes, you feel guilty, you accept it. In essence, what you’re saying, you don’t realize, when you accept accusation, you’re saying, «Jesus, you didn’t do a good job. It’s not finished. God, you’re not satisfied with what Jesus did, and devil, you’re right».
That’s what you’re saying. So what’s the defense? The defense is in the gospel. We confess, I am the righteousness of God in Christ, amen! Now, someone who hears me like this, they say, «Oh, Pastor Prince, you’re telling people they can just do whatever they want». People are not stupid, they know. Look at my testimonies that I’ve shared, you know, in all my books and all the testaments you’ve heard and all that. You know, they become holy by accident. When people confess, I am the righteousness of God in Christ, many a times they don’t want to sin after that, but the thing is that the devil is accusing them of what they have done wrong or what they have not done right. Their position is I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Legal term against legal accusation.
You cannot just say, «Oh, God loves me, so devil, I don’t care what you say. God loves me». It’s not just that. You must answer with a legal answer, and the legal answer is, I am the righteousness of God. Righteousness of God is a judicial term. Martin Luther says it like this, I love it. «Jesus, you are my sin. I am your righteousness». Powerful statement. The divine exchange took place at the cross. Jesus became our sin. He took our place. I become his righteousness. For me not to take my righteousness is to say Jesus didn’t become my sin. It’s to negate the work of the cross. Are you with me so far? Do you understand? Of all the devices that he would… long before he can steal from you, before he can kill, before he can destroy, he accuses.
In 1 Peter 5, let’s read 1 Peter 5. «Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour». And then it says, «Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing the same sufferings I experienced by your brotherhood in the world». Now the word, «your adversary the devil». The word adversary is made up of the Greek word, «antidikos». «Anti,» you all know «anti,» right, means against. «Dikos» is literally lawsuit. Vine says of «antidikos,» an opponent in a lawsuit. So that’s the word adversary. An opponent in a lawsuit. The devil still functions in terms of legality. His language in accusing you is a legal language. «Because you have done this, because you have done that. Don’t forget what God said in his Word.
Now, expect the punishment. Expect the sentence». Even though those are not exactly the words you hear, that is the experience a lot of people go through, and sometimes, unfortunately, it is helped somewhat by the pulpit in terms of the preaching. When the real gospel is not fully preached. Let me tell you this. The devil is a strong exponent of holiness, but not grace, because he knows he focused on holiness without the grace of God. People think holiness is a deeper subject than grace. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Remember what we said? That an unbelieving husband can be sanctified by the wife. So even a non-Christian can be sanctified. No, the devil has so, you know, reversed the role of grace that makes you think that anyone talk about grace, «Grace is good. Hallelujah, we are saved by grace. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, but now that we are saved, we got to be holy».
Let me tell you this. If you understand grace, you will be holy by accident. You cannot be underwater and not be wet anymore than you can be under grace and not be holy. When you touch water, you touch wet. You touch grace, you touch holiness. It’s just a power within that you want to do what’s right. So when the devil comes as an accuser… the next question I want to ask is this. He’s the adversary. By the way, Ha-Satan is Hebrew. The devil is of course in English, but the word in the Greek is, the devil is «diabolos». We get the word diabolical, «diabolos». «Diabolos» is actually, listen, to charge with the intent, to accuse or to charge with the intent to hurt or destroy.
This is very interesting because the word Satan is the word accuser in the Hebrew. You ask the Hebrew people, they will tell you it’s a legal term. A prosecutor at law. So the devil is a lawyer. Now, if you’re a lawyer, don’t take offense. The Bible says Jesus is also an advocate. 1 John 2:2, «We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous». And man, he’s a powerful lawyer. He’s a Jewish lawyer. Okay, so don’t… but understand this, the devil uses legal terms. So when Jesus died on the cross and cried, «Finished,» this is what happened. Revelation 12 took place. I believe that. «Then I heard a loud voice saying, in heaven, 'Now salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.'»
Blood means what? There has been a death, and this is not ordinary blood. This is the blood, divine blood flowed in Emmanuel’s veins. That blood. When the devil tells you, you know, «How dare you ask God for this kind of thing? How can you expect to have a life more abundant? How can you expect to be healed in your body when you have done this, you have done that». Just say, «Nothing but the blood. The blood of Jesus». In other words, the blood gives you the right, amen. The blood means all your sins that the devil accused you of have been paid. Fully paid! The blood of Jesus has fully met all the claims of divine justice. More than that, glorified God’s throne. Why did Jesus sanctify in heaven, real heaven itself? What did he do?
So one day, I asked God the question, and I remember, I was just fellowshipping with a brother and we’re talking about life and things like that. I never expected the answer to come there and there. All of a sudden, not related to what we are talking about, God just drop it. Back in the rock auditorium, I was standing in front of your brother, fellowshipping, just catching up with him, and then God dropped the answer straight away. I knew, I saw it straight away. Remember when Satan came before God in the book of Job, chapter 1, and accused Job. I mean, he’s pretending to be jealous of God’s righteousness and he accused Job, right? How come the devil can come to God before all the angels also?
Well, God said to me that that position was actually Adam’s, but Adam bowed his knee to Satan and gave him that place. So now Satan has the right to come to God, using Adam’s access, to accuse men, but then when Jesus walked in, hallelujah, hallelujah! When he ascended with the blood, the Bible says like the high priest of the Old Testament, amen? He sprinkled the place where Satan stood. So that ground is now redeemed ground. Satan cannot stand anymore. That’s why, «the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb». Can you see that? That the devil has no more access.
So he has no more access to heaven. Don’t think of… if any preacher tells you he goes to heaven and accuse you and all that, it’s no more true. It was true in the old, but ever since Jesus died and rose again and brought the blood in the, the devil has no more access. All right, he’s cast down. Now let me tell you this. «They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb». So we must sing about the blood, talk about the blood, preach about the blood. Only the blood will defeat the enemy. Can I have a good amen? Cover your family with the blood of Jesus. Cover your car with the blood of Jesus. The devil understands blood. Blood has a voice. The Bible says the blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of Abel. Blood has a voice.
When you cover your children with the blood of Jesus, you mean, blood of Jesus, you are actually sending a message to the devil, hands off. He has no title, no right to touch that child. Cover yourself with the blood of Jesus. Before you sleep at night, cover yourself with the blood of Jesus. Cover your dreams with the blood of Jesus. The devil knows, okay? You cannot touch anything with the blood, hallelujah. Go back to 1 Peter 5. We are bringing this to a close. All right, so, «Resist the devil, steadfast in the faith». The word resist in the Greek is the word «anthistemi». Is that interesting? «Anthistemi,» resist is where you get the word antihistamine? The doctors give you antihistamine for your flu or your allergies, right? «Anthistemi» means withstand.
How do you withstand the enemy? «Steadfast in the faith, knowing the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world». The devil wants you isolated. He wants you to think that your problem is uniquely your own because you are a strange person. You look at your friend, they’re all happy and all that. You are strange. You see the thoughts that go through your mind? Only you have this kind of thoughts. Only you wake up in the middle of the night. Only you have this depression, only you! It’s the work of the enemy to cause antisocial behavior and also to isolate you from people. Now go to steadfast. «Resist him, steadfast in the faith».
Now, what is steadfast in the faith? Steadfast in the faith means… and I’ll bring this to a close. Steadfast in the faith means stand tall and say, «I am the righteousness of God in Christ». So you know what you’re saying when the devil comes and accuses you? Even when you’re sleeping at night, the devil puts bad thoughts on you or bad imaginations. Say, «I’m the righteousness of God in Christ». Something happens because just that when you say, «Yes, I’m guilty» or you accept it, you come under that, saying God is a liar or that the devil is right, and God is not satisfied with what Jesus did.
Likewise, when you say, «I’m the righteousness of God in Christ,» you’re saying a mouthful. You’re saying God is satisfied with what Jesus did. Jesus offered a perfect offering on my behalf. His blood has fully met all the claims of justice, amen, and I am righteous because Jesus did a perfect work. He became my sin. Now I take my place as righteous. The moment the devil knows that, he flees from you, because listen carefully. If the devil slandered the righteousness that took full note of all your sins, not one of them escaped, and exacted a full penalty for all your sins.
Now, righteousness is to declare you justified. It is unrighteousness to declare yourself not justified because of what Jesus did. So if you take sides with what God has said, amen, about you, you are justified, and the devil comes to attack you with an accusation, you say, «I’m the righteous of God in Christ». Whether verbally or inwardly, all right, you know that, something happens to the devil. Now he becomes guilty. Listen, in the course of justice, if an accuser accuses someone falsely, the accuser becomes as guilty as the person he’s accusing had the accusation been justified. Let me explain.
If the accuser is aiming to say someone, he’s like, accusing someone of murder. You think it’s just murder? No, he’s saying he deserves death. He’s aiming for his death. The accuser is aiming for his death because murder carries the death penalty. Now, if the whole church is false, now the accuser becomes guilty of the same crime because he’s aiming for his death. Now he’s a murderer. So the moment you take your position saying, «I’m the righteousness of God in Christ,» the whole thing falls back on the devil. He dare not handle a Christian like that, you understand? Because he will have to bear the penalty. Follow what I’m saying?
And that’s why we close with, «No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn». So there’s something about this whole scenario about accepting guilt and falling sick, or mentally depressed and having psychological problems, and declaring you’re the righteousness of God in Christ. By the same token, what comes on the heels of righteousness? Health, wholeness, peace, stability, poise, power, peace of mind.
It’s powerful. Every tongue that rises against you, whether you read about it, you hear the devil tells you something accusatory, or someone… the devil uses people a lot. When you see all those words coming against you, just say, «I condemn all those words». Don’t condemn the people. «I condemn all those words. I reject them because I’m the righteousness of God in Christ,» and start to prosper because the thief will have to stop stealing, killing, and destroy as far as you are concerned because you are the righteousness of God in Christ, amen. Praise the Lord.