Joseph Prince - Walk in the Spirit, Live in the Supernatural
Do you know, Church, that the Lord has given us an easy way to walk in the Spirit, to walk with him? I wanna share on that today and how, in walking in the Spirit, we’ll possess our possessions. The Lord said to Joshua that «the way you possess the land is like this», Joshua chapter 1, God says, «Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses». Notice that? God has given Joshua and the people of Israel the land, the Promised Land.
The word there, «I have given,» is past tense, and yet God told him, «Every place that the sole of your foot would tread upon, I have given you, as I said to Moses». And he goes on to tell us here, in verse 4, about the land that God wants him to possess: «From the wilderness», and this is what God has given to Israel. «From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory».
So I was thinking that God is talking about possession here. And more importantly, Joshua and all the events and the happenings of the Old Testament is, actually, they are but a shadow. They are not the substance. We are living in the substance. We in the New Covenant, we are living in the substance. So when I look at that, and I know that, for this, it’s a real land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So today our possession is in the cross, amen. The Lord has done so much for us, and all that we are cognizant of, in some circles, is just forgiveness of sins and the fact that we have received eternal life through the cross of Jesus Christ. But there’s so much more. There’s yet very much land to be possessed.
So God said to Joshua that «the way you possess the land is by walking, literally, every place, the sole of your foot. And as you walk, you will possess what I have already given you». In other words, possessing your possessions, possessing what is already yours. God says, «Just walk». In Genesis 5, we find this word about Enoch. It says that Enoch walked with God. And notice again: He walked with God, like Adam and Eve. He walked with God. So going back all the way down there, man still walk with God, together with. But walking with God is still outward, okay?
It is still something close, yes, but not as close as what I’m gonna share with you. I’m gonna show you right now the New Covenant way of walking with God is in Galatians 5, verse 16. «I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh,» amen. So here we have a more intimate walk: Walk in the Spirit. Now, how do you walk in the Spirit? You’re not walking with the Spirit. You’re not walking before the Spirit. That would indicate that the Holy Spirit is outside you. And don’t forget: the Holy Spirit is God himself, amen, one of the godhead, amen?
The divine person of the godhead, the Holy Spirit. And here it’s not talking about you walking with the Holy Spirit or walking before the Holy Spirit, which all indicates he’s still outside you, but you’re walking in the Holy Spirit, hallelujah. You’re walking in the Spirit. That is a very intimate term. Because you know the real you is actually a spirit? God made you in his image. God made you a spirit. You are a tripartite being. You are a spirit being. You have a soul, amen? Your soul is not the real you, okay? The real you is the spirit, and you have a soul, right?
I am a spirit. I have a soul. The soul is the mind, the will, the emotions. All that is the soul realm. And you live in a body. So there are three parts to you. You’re also tripartite, amen? There are three parts to you. So you are a spirit, you have a soul, you live in a body. Guess what? It’s a picture of the tabernacle. The old tabernacle of Moses, you find there are three parts to it: the outer court, which is your body, right? The holy place, which is your soul. And then the holy of holies, where the ark of the covenant is in God’s presence, and shekinah glory is there. That’s the spirit. It’s the most intimate part.
That’s why when you pray in the Spirit, how be it in the Spirit, when you pray in tongues, you are praying in the Spirit. By the way, anyone that tells you you’re praying in the Spirit means you are praying with more gumption and more power and more passion. That’s not praying in the Spirit. Bible must define Bible, okay? Paul says, «I’ll sing with the Spirit, and I’ll sing with the understanding». That means what? «I’ll pray in tongues, and I’ll pray with understanding. I’ll sing in the Spirit, and I’ll sing with the understanding,» okay?
So here he’s saying, very clearly, that «wherefore, if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays». Paul says, «If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays». The most intimate part of me is praying, and that’s what the Bible says about praying in the Holy Spirit. In Jude, it says, «Praying in the Holy Spirit». It goes together with building up yourselves on your most holy faith. Praying in the Holy Spirit. Building up yourself on what? Your most holy faith. Why is that most holy?
Many years ago, I was meditating on this, and the Lord began to show me that, when you pray in the Spirit, because the next verse says, «Praying in the Holy Spirit». When you pray in the Holy Spirit, you are praying for your most holy place, the holy of holies. «Most holy» means holy of holies. You are the temple of God. Which part of you is the holy of holies? Your spirit man. So when you pray in tongues, that prayer does not come from your head. That’s why, you know, you pray in understanding, pray in English, your native language for a while and you stop.
You run out of thoughts, you run out of words, you run out of ideas to talk with God. But when you pray in the Spirit, you can do it all day long, even in undertones, you are praying from your most holy place. That’s why it’s called building yourself on your most holy faith, the holy of holies, most holy. Praying in the Holy Spirit, hallelujah. And it says, «Keep yourself in the love of God». You’ll keep yourself in the place where the love of God and all he provides for you will be there. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. You keep yourself in the consciousness of the love of God by praying in the Holy Spirit. So it’s sandwiched by building your most holy faith, keeping yourself in the love of God, and what is in between? Praying in the Holy Spirit, hallelujah.
Friend, this is a gift that is one of the least esteemed in the body of Christ. Yet when I study the Scriptures with no prejudice and I just look at the Scriptures as it is, I find that the Bible emphasizes a lot on praying in tongues. One thing about praying in tongues is that, you know, it doesn’t engage your brain. Now, some people don’t like that. They want their brain to be involved because they like to be in control, amen? They forget that, when man sin, the part that is supposed to be in control is the spirit man. But when man sinned against God, the spirit died. It’s deadened.
So they live by their mind, or they live by their body. That’s why either they are hyper-intellectual, all right, which is a dangerous place to be also because, when you live just based on your mind, you’re not listening to your intuition. You’re not listening to what your spirit says. Your spirit is faster than your brain. Your spirit is faster than your mind. Your spirit knows things beyond your mind, which is confined, which is limited by knowledge, by experience, by what you know.
My friend, the spirit transcends all that. The spirit is the place where God’s Spirit meets, and that’s where the Holy Spirit resides. That’s where you pray in tongues from. That’s why it’s called praying in the Spirit, amen. Paul says, «If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful». Notice that? Which part of you is praying? My spirit prays, hallelujah, amen. And you don’t always have to translate your tongues. You don’t have to, amen? But if you speak out loud in the church, you need to translate it. Ask God for the interpretation thereof. Are you with me so far? So Paul says, «I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all».
Let me read that portion for you because there’s something very special here. «I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church», now, notice the emphasis. And this is what people say: «You know, Paul is emphasizing prophecy more than tongues». But he’s talking about prophecy in the church. «Yet in the church, I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue». Now, notice, he says that «yet in the church», don’t forget the context. «Yet in the church».
Paul says, «I’m speaking in tongues, like, all day long. I speak in tongues more than you all. But yet in the church, when I come to the church», the church is a gathering of God’s people, «I would rather speak five words with my understanding». In our case, in English, for the most part in English, our understanding. «So that I may teach», what? «That I may teach others also than ten thousand words in a tongue». So you know something? It’s like what the Lord showed me one time: If you speak 10,000 words in a tongue before you go to a service, before you go to the church where the gathering of God’s people are, if you pray 10,000 words in a tongue all day long, you only need five words of understanding to have the impact, to have the power of God released, amen, for your words to carry spirit and life.
«Not persuasive words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,» you will speak with understanding, not with tongues, with understanding because your five words of understanding, and five is the number of grace, your five words will be full of grace, amen? If you’ve been praying 10,000 words in a tongue, hallelujah, amen? Something else I wanna show you, and this will blow your mind. When God revealed this to me, I’m telling you: I’m so excited. Now watch this now, amen? Paul says, «I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also».
Now, what does Paul mean? «That I may teach others also». Why is «also» there? Why did he use the word «also»? Now, friend, are you ready for this? Are you ready? I hope you brought tight-fitting socks, you know? He’s gonna blast you out of your socks. Are you ready? Now, because when he’s, you know why he used «also»? He’s saying that «when I pray in tongues, God teaches me. Now when I come to the church, I’ll speak with understanding that I might teach others also». The way others are taught is by me speaking English, right? My understanding.
But the way I’m taught, that’s why he says, «I am taught by my praying in tongues. When I pray in tongues, God talks to me. God teaches me, hallelujah! God teaches me. Yet in the church, I’ll speak with my understanding that I might teach others also». So there’s been a teaching going on already for him to say «also». Are you with me so far? In other words, when you pray in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit will teach you. Like Jesus promised in the upper room, he says, «When the Holy Spirit’s come, He will guide you into all truth, and He will teach you all things». Amen?
When you pray in the Spirit, he will teach you. I’ll tell you this: Praying in the Holy Spirit has transformed my life. When I pray in the Spirit for a seasonable time, you know? And that was for some protracted time, I find that, when I open the Bible, the words of Scripture just jump out at me. I understand things that were otherwise, you know, I can’t make sense of it. And all of a sudden, I see the key that unlocks that passage by praying in the Spirit, and that’s why, when you pray in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit teaches you, but when you’re teaching others, you cannot go… You can’t be praying in tongues, amen? You need to speak with understanding.
But, listen, when you pray in tongues, 10,000 words in tongues you only need five words in understanding, hallelujah! Praise the name of Jesus. Are you with me so far? So walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Just like what God said to Abraham, «Walk before Me and be blameless,» right? God says, «I am El Shaddai. Walk before Me and be blameless». Now, somehow, people will just sometimes switch the whole thing around and say, «God is saying, 'If you are blameless, you can walk before me.'» God did not say that. God says, «Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh».
You know something? Our walk has become more intimate in the New Covenant, where your spirit and God’s Spirit are in the holy of holies, and you sense things. That’s why what you sense deep down is more important than what you hear in your head, than your logic, than your reasoning. Your spirit man is faster than your head. If you listen to it, you will find profit. «I am the LORD thy God who teaches you to profit and leads you by the way you should go,» profit in every area of your life, amen? So what happened? Watch this now. And God told Joshua, right after, he says, «Every place the sole of your foot would walk», right?
Drop down to verse 8. God says, «This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success». Now, how many want your way to be prosperous and have good success, not bad success? All right, «Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go».
So in the Old Testament, Joshua had to meditate on the law, the book of the law. «And you will take out the intestines and lay it on the altar, and you shall burn it as a sweet-smelling fragrance». Those are the things he meditates on. You know, in Joshua’s time, there’s not much of the Bible yet for him to meditate on. It’s all in the Pentateuch in the Torah, the five books of Moses, that he meditated on. Now, think about it: This book of the law shall not depart from where? Your mouth, but you shall meditate. Hebrew «hagah» is «to mutter with the mouth».
Again, it’s the mouth, mutter with the mouth. Today what has taken the place of the law? The Spirit. The law was given on Mount Sinai. Three thousand people died. The Spirit was given on Mount Zion. Three thousand people were saved. So you can put it like this: The more you pray in the Spirit, when you keep the Spirit of God flowing, like Jesus says, «On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus cried out with a loud voice. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water». And the Bible says, «(This he spake of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.)»
So Jesus is saying there’s coming a time. He knows, after he dies, he goes back to heaven, he will dispense. He will send forth the Holy Spirit. And then he says, «Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water». Hallelujah, friend, this is amazing. So as you speak, today, for us, as we speak in tongues, instead of the law, as we speak in the Spirit, you will make your way prosperous, and you will have good success. Do you remember Psalms 1? Psalms 1 says what? If you meditate on God’s Word, «His delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night».
Same word, hagah, «meditate,» is to mutter, to mutter. All day long, day and night, mutter. Mutter on what? God’s law. But today this is applied in the Spirit, in the New Covenant. It’s actually «His delight is in the Holy Spirit and how he leads us, his promptings, his suggestions, and his prayer language,» right? «And in the Spirit he mutters day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper». Keep all these blessings in mind. Look at the result: «He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season», he’ll be fruitful, «Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper».
Now, can I say that this is the Holy Spirit now that has come? Yes. I’m gonna show you right now from Ezekiel corresponding to what Jesus said on the last day called the «Hoshana Rabbah,» the great final day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus stood up and said, you know, if you believe on him, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water. And the writer John, he spoke of the Holy Spirit, who was not yet given because Jesus has not yet been glorified. But now, today, he has been glorified.
So let’s check Ezekiel 47. Now, this is a prophecy of Ezekiel, of the future, referring to the Dead Sea. It’s the lowest place on Planet Earth, okay? But now, if you look at the map of the Dead Sea, there’s now, like, a land bridge in between, and there’s a North Sea and a South Sea. Why is this important? Because prophet Ezekiel prophesied years before Jesus was born. He prophesied that the north part of the Dead Sea will be healed, but the southern part will not. You know, when people hear that last time, there’s only one big mass of sea, like a huge lake. But now we know in our day and age.
So this is literally coming to pass. So there’s a literal fulfillment, but there’s also a spiritual fulfillment. Watch this: «He brought me back,» Ezekiel says. God brought him back to the door of the temple. «And there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple towards the east». Notice, «Flowing from the threshold of the temple». Now, you are the temple of God. Spiritually, it is like what Jesus said, «Out of your belly shall flow, out of your innermost man, your innermost being, shall flow rivers of living water». And it flows out of your mouth, amen? In that beautiful prayer language. «And it flows towards the east, and the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple».
Now drop down. «And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish». Now, this is true. It’s referring to that, from Jerusalem, there will be a river of water coming out from under the threshold of the temple, and it will go to the Dead Sea, and it will heal the north part of the Dead Sea, the larger part. Look at the map today. You’ll will find there are two seas. There are two Dead Sea. It will heal the northern part, and everything that moves shall live, amen. It will come alive, and there will be a great multitude of fish.
Now, spiritually speaking, out of our belly, when we allow the rivers of living water to flow whoever we come in contact with, they will live just being in your presence, and when you are praying in the Spirit a lot, people sense life. People sense edification, strength. They find comfort. They find refreshing. Praise the Lord. The Bible says speaking in tongues is the rest and refreshing, Isaiah 28. And it says that «because these waters go there; for they will be healed».
There’ll be healing. There’ll be healing. «And everything will live wherever the river goes». Drop down. «Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither». Does that remind you of something? Psalms 1. «And their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food». And watch this: «Their leaves», they will not fail, «their leaves for medicine»!
You will have health, and this medicine has no side effect because it’s a medicine of God, amen. That means healing. There’ll be healing, there’ll be nourishment, there’ll be food. Your health, your leaves will not wither. Psalms 1 tells us that. But in Psalms 1, the emphasis is on meditating on the…law. But then we showed you that the river here is from the temple. And fulfilling what Jesus said, out of your belly shall flow, out of your innermost man, the deep, innermost part of your temple, the temple of God, will flow rivers of living water, and we see that it produces the same results: Your leaf will not wither. Your health will not fail.
«Your leaf will not wither» means you’ll also, you’ll always be green, perennially green, and whatever you do will prosper just by praying in the Spirit, amen? When you pray in the Spirit, your health will not fail. You’ll always be green, always be young, when you pray in the Spirit. That’s satisfying your mouth with good. I believe that’s the good. It’s not food. It’s the good of God the gift of praying in the Spirit. Satisfy your mouth with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles, amen, amen, and whatever you do will prosper.