Joseph Prince - The Temple Mount and The Throne of Grace
— The Temple Mount Expedition Promised Land, pastor what do you want to touch on here in this kind of epic location and an epic evening afternoon here in Jerusalem, what do you want to touch on?
— When I look at this panoramic view, where better than from here this perspective, you imagine the temple of Solomon standing there, for many years and then when the church of Israel started committing ideology, and that’s one sin that God would not tolerate because they committed many sins, but they still offer the lamb sacrifices right? So the sin was virtually covered but the moment they commit ideology they worship other Gods, which they stop offering the sacrifices and there’s no more covering, God sent Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and brought them out into captivity for 70 years. Now before that happened, prophet saw the glory of God lifted up from the temple, he saw the glory of God above the temple, lingering almost as if he does not want to leave. And then after that the next thing he saw was it moved slowly to the threshold of the temple and then move slowly ever so slowly to the Eastern gate on the other side. And then again it lingered, almost like strong crying, wailing, him and the Lord Jesus our Savior wailing, it’s not like the tears that he wept at Lazarus tomb, he wept quietly. But he wept over Israel and Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem how I wish I could have gathered you under my arms, and gathered you like a mother hen would gather her chicks. But you would not. They rejected the Lord Jesus and by doing so they rejected the protection. And there is a story of the Jewish suffering for the past 2000 years. It’s not that God does not want to protect them, it’s that he’s waiting for them to say and acknowledge him. I want to be protected, I want to be loved by you, you have the consent to be safe, you have the consent to be loved. But what is the heartbeat of Jesus, weeping over Israel, Israel or Jerusalem, he saw the sufferings. He saw the future, or what happened 8070 and beyond, and he said as you want so much to gather you and he wept with tears. And you’ll not see my face again until you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And that glory that Ezekiel saw over the Eastern gate, went all the way to the Mount of Olives, and all of a sudden, he disappeared. That was in the Old Testament, so we say today, like when you sinned, God leaves you just like that. But know this, Jesus died and rose again from the dead. On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit the, glory of God came back here, like a rushing mighty wind. When he leaves, he leaves ever so slowly because we have sin.
— Wow.
— When he comes, he comes like a rushing mighty wind. We hear the opposite, we hear like when you sin, that’s it. He’s gone and his presence is gone. As I was preaching, you were chewing gum, he’s gone, I don’t feel his presence no more. It’s actually the opposite, he is so reluctant to leave but today he does not leave us anymore. You will never forsake us and never leave us. But even in the Old Testament, he leaves ever so slowly. He comes like a rushing, mighty wind. So eager to fill us up. Amen, he’s more eager for you to have the Holy Spirit in his fullness than you are to have him. See the difference? And that’s why grace is not natural. Do good get good, do bad get bad. Every system of the world understands that. Every form of morality understands that but to teach you to you can receive good you don’t deserve. Because another receives all the bad he does not deserve that takes the Holy Spirit to elucidate, it takes the Holy Spirit to uncover the loveliness of Jesus. It does not take the Holy Spirit to teach, don’t do this don’t do that, look at the world, what’s happening in the world, talk about all of it, but it takes the Holy Spirit to have God’s perspective, where sin increased, now think about it, when Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus says you shall receive power and the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me where? In Jerusalem first. And then in Samaria, and Judea and Samaria until the outermost parts of the earth but notice the guiltiest city, was the first priority. For his grace.
— Wow, Expedition Promised Land we are in the midst of it, and a good day is to be on an expedition in the Promised Land with Joseph Prince. As we look this way, everything to our senses is ancient. What we see are ancient stones. We see stones that were carved in the Herod period you know we see a lot of things that look old, not modern, but in as much as the City of Jerusalem, represents the past, it also represents the future. What an interesting thing to kind of talk about right here and what we are seeing here today.
— Yes definitely when you come to Israel, and if you always have the perspective of the past and this is just historic, look at Israel today, it’s different, no it’s not. This is the Israel he’s coming back for. The modern-day Israel, and the rapture is not the coming of Jesus in the Mount of Olives. When he comes to rule and reign 1000 years of millennial role, the rapture will happen first. And it can happen any time. Any time. And Matt, you will be young again.
— I love that.
— She was just waiting for that. And forever healthy. Forever strong. You know never again falling sick or even feeling fatigued. Forever. Not floating around, you know, but having a body, a glorified body. Heaven is a real place, it’s more real than our physical presence right now we cannot imagine it, the moment a heart stops beating and they stepped out and they say man I feel so alive. And then they will say lots of good looking people down there, it’s like we cannot imagine it because death has lost its sting. You know when David lost his child, David says he will not come to me, but I shall go to him. He’s talking about the child is somewhere, the child is with the Lord. He’s being raised by the angels. And I lost a child when I was in my 40s. You know we had one in between, and we lost a child, but the Lord gave this Revelation: your child is growing up so every year I’m counting how old she is now? In heaven, how old is she now? She would have been this and I will see her one day, and the rapture will happen any time. In the twinkling of an eye, I see the twinkle in your eye, we have a brand-new body. We feel so alive. And then we meet the ones who have gone on for you, you will recognize your dad. You know, because you’ll see who’s the good looking young man? We will all be strong, healthy young forever. We cannot imagine it because we become accustomed to all the aches and pains, and shortcomings and limitations, we cannot imagine heaven, and I really want to go there, some people are true and sincere, and they say I don’t want to go there you cannot imagine, God made this life, God made your body and if you enjoy what you have in the body and all the senses and all that, imagine the glorified body will have in heaven one day.
— It hit me, listening to you earlier today, that this city does not just represent when you come here, it does not just represent where Jesus walked, it represents where Jesus is going to walk. He’s coming back, and he’s gonna rule from here. This city represents the past, the present, and the future. And what a beautiful thought that we are here, come with us to Israel, you’re given a whole bunch of different reasons to come. It’s a festive evening here, a lot of singing, a lot of shouting, Purim, someone told me Purim is kind of like the Jewish Halloween, you know everyone kind of dresses up.
— You are not a Christian are you?
— I don’t think so, but Purim represents to the people of Jerusalem when they were literally saved from destruction. So there’s a party atmosphere, a festive atmosphere, your final thoughts on this location and the expedition we’ve been on?
— I believe that every time someone comes to Israel, God will speak to them effortlessly.
— I love that.
— And you know back home you got to set aside time, listen to the word, or spend time, but it seems like everywhere you go, you know God is speaking all the time and you were actually compelled to meditate, because all day long we are looking at locations and different things, and probably you will hear something, you’ll probably hear something that speaks to you. And that’s the word of liberty, the word of comfort and the word of encouragement and strength. And I find that every time, my people from my church when they come to Israel, they come back and they have a financial breakthrough, they have some areas of you know, enlargement, and increase, something happened something good happens and they say pastor we love when you come back from Israel you are so full, you know it’s like you spill all over us, and this is my place and my go to place to get replenishment, because I hear what they are talking about in the natural, like the Holy Spirit like a ball and twine. I know that no one will be shortchanged coming to Israel, walking the slopes of the Mount of Olives, going by the length of Galilee, you got the Holy Spirit and material to show you his beautiful son. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
— Expedition Promised Land. Right here, at the Temple Mount, pastor what do you want to talk about from this epic location?
— Right now, it’s what we call the heart of Jerusalem where the temple used to stand above there where the rock is right now, the temple of Solomon, the temple of hera, and that’s the place where Jesus says make not my father’s house the house of merchandise, but my father’s house because even Jesus called the temple then my father’s house. And it used to be a holy city and although the history of Jerusalem belies the fact, it’s going to be a holy city because he’s coming back to the city, Jerusalem. He touched the aMount of Olives and then he’s gonna come down right here, right here Jerusalem and what is the very thing that God wants us to focus on that’s the greatest thing in the temple, you will say glory, where do you find that glory? In the holy of holies, of all the places in Israel, where will you say is the holiest city, you will say Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem, where would you say is the holiest spot, the holiest holy of holies, you will say in the temple right in the holy of holies. But what’s right in the center of the holy of holies? The mercy seat. Where the blood is sprinkled. We need to realize that true holiness with God is about the finished book of Jesus where if we believe on the Lord Jesus and the finished work, the blood on the mercies seat, not under the mercy he says do not take it out, the moment you take it out the people will… And many of them died in one fell swoop. What were they doing? They were taking out the law the 10 commandments and in order to do that you had to push away the mercy seat. If you watch, of the lost ark, and when they push away the mercy seat brought up the law there was death. And God wants us to always remember that grace is higher than the law. Grace has come, Moses represents the law, but the son Jesus Christ represents grace.
— Pastor, I’ve been here more than 100 times, and I’ve never experienced someone looking into the camera, and giving an altar call, think of what an opportunity that it is, in the midst of where we are, and the original mercy seat, being right over your shoulder, what a beautiful place to lead people to Jesus. Please.
— You know in the teaching of the mercy seat, which is the art of the covenant, in the temple of Solomon it was right in the holy of holies. And what’s the art of the cabinet represent? Our Lord Jesus. The gold represents his deity. The wood, the rectangular wood represents his humanity. He is both God, and man. The lid we call it the in Hebrew, the mercy seat represents his finished work on the cross. That’s why the blood is sprinkled. But where is the law? The 10 commandments, it’s put under the mercy seat, God says when I see the blood, I don’t see your sin, I don’t see a lawbreaking, but has the blood been shed? Yes. The true blood of Jesus, the true blood of the atonement has been shed outside the gates of Jerusalem. And the blood has been sprinkled on the real substance, the real mercy the throne of God. Today the throne of God is no longer the throne of judgment, it is that throne of grace, and what is grace is undeserved and unmerited favor, unearned favor and the Bible come boldly to the throne of grace, to find grace of favor in time of need, and mercy. Now think about it, let us come to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace, in our time of need. What is mercy, mercy is not the judgment you do deserve, what is grace, grace is getting all the blessings in the favor that you don’t deserve. Amen, see you get both. Amen. At the throne of grace. And that’s where we have an access to God through the throne of grace our Lord Jesus Christ, if you believe in Jesus, you shall be saved. And your entire household because here’s where God brought his redemption, there’s no other salvation, found in any other name but the name of Jesus. There is no other way, Jesus says I am the way, the truth, and the light. Perhaps right now you are saying you know pastor if my heart stops beating tonight I am not sure if heaven is my home and all my sins are forgiven, the Bible says these things are written that you may know you have eternal life. If that is you, just pray this prayer right now with me let’s invite the Lord Jesus Christ to come into our lives, and say Lord Jesus, I thank you for your love for me, and I thank you’ve died on the cross, for my sins. I confess you, Jesus Christ you are my Lord, Jesus Christ is my Lord, and I believe God has raised you from the dead. God is now my father, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it’s now my father. In Jesus' name, friend if you pray that prayer you are now a child of God. Your sins are completely forgiven, past present and future. Amen. All things are new, in your life.
— Wow, expedition mercy seat is the new name of our special, think of it, Promised Land, mercy seat, you could have talked about 1967, when Israel finally reunified the City of Jerusalem, you could’ve talked about, you of course, you are going to automatically default to the throne of grace. And if somebody let’s say is new to this journey, what are you actually saying when we talk about the mercy seat, the grace and throne of grace, what are we actually talking about?
— We are talking about the different dispensation, compared to what the Jewish people were under, the law, we are no longer under the law, we are under grace, the law was not given by Moses, but the grace and truth came by through Jesus Christ. The law was given from a distance, I can send you an email, right? But I came, I came to Israel. You see it’s very personal, grace and truth came by the son, the law was given by servants, now the very first miracle of Jesus was turning the water into wine. The first judgement miracle of Moses was turn water into blood, resulting in death when Jesus turned the water into wine that resulted in life and celebration. Grace has come. The Lord is all about demand demand, you shall not you shall not, that’s the essence of the Lord, demands. And nothing wrong with demands, they are perfect and holy. But unfortunately we are bankrupt. God is demanding righteousness, from man and from sinfully bankrupt men, but grace is all about supply, and I supply you the righteousness you do not have. I supply you with the wisdom you do not have, I will supply you, the holiness even that you pray for, it’s all a gift, the Bible says our hearts in the Book of Acts are purified by faith. Have you heard that before? That hearts can be purified by faith? It’s crucial that we unveil Jesus to the people, and all his loveliness, beauties, glories and excellencies, and his finished work, it’s his perfect finished work. It takes the Holy Spirit to preach grace, because the law is natural, tell me do good get good, do bad get bad. I understand, everyone in the world understands that, every Philosophy, every approach to God, understands that. But to say that I can receive good I do not deserve, because another received the bad, that I deserved, wow. That takes the Holy Spirit to unveil the loveliness of Jesus, takes the Holy Spirit to say do not do this, do not do that from the pulpit, don’t do this don’t do that, don’t do this, it’s easy, you don’t need the Holy Spirit. There are people who are not Christians who teach don’t do this, don’t do that, morality, but there’s no power to do that. But to unveil the beauty of Jesus, takes the Holy Spirit, we are anointed to glorify Jesus, the Holy Spirit has come for one reason and it’s to glorify Jesus.