Joseph Prince - Stop Striving to Be Your Best Self (01/20/2026)
Joseph emphasizes that God often uses human teachers and pastors to reveal the meaning of Scripture through the rhema word, rather than direct revelation alone, drawing from the stories of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 and the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. He stresses that self-occupation leads to discouragement and sin-consciousness, while being occupied with Christ’s beauty and grace frees us, bringing ever-increasing glory under the New Covenant of righteousness. Ultimately, true liberty from sin comes not from law and condemnation but from beholding Jesus and His finished work.
Longing for the Rhema Word
There is a psalmist, and he’s longing for this, and there’s something that’s on my heart I want to share with all of you. I endeavor to speak what God wants said in every service, okay? That’s called the rhema. In Greek, rhema. Rhema is not logos. Logos is the general purpose and plan of God. Like, the whole Bible is a collection of the logos, but it is also rhema in it. And what we want every day of our life is one rhema, amen? Jeremiah says it like this: «Thy words, » plural, «were found, and I eat them, » I enjoy them, «and thy word», out of that, there’s a word that comes out, amen. It’s like, it arrests you, you know? When you’re reading it, it arrests you. It says «Read me again and again». It’s like a word that lights up like the Urim and Thummim. And then it arrests you.
Now, that’s the word that God has for you. It’s the rhema word that God has for you for that day. Remember Philip? He was sent to the eunuch from Ethiopia. And the eunuch is actually a man of great authority, not just authority, the Hebrew Bible says «great authority», who has charge of Candace, the queen of Ethiopia’s treasure. And she is, I mean, he is a convert. So he was on his way back, and he has a scroll of the book of Isaiah.
The Ethiopian Eunuch and the Need for a Teacher
Now, in those days, you know, the Bible is in scrolls, and the scrolls are in the synagogues, or in the temple. I mean, you can’t just get a scroll like the Bible we have today. Let’s not take it for granted. It takes a very wealthy person to purchase a scroll. So, obviously, he has a scroll, and he was in his chariot, and of course he has people, his servants, to drive him and all that. He was reading the book of Isaiah, and he came to the portion in Isaiah 53 in our Bible. His was a scroll. He has to unscroll to read. And he came to the part where it says, «Surely he has borne our diseases and carried our pains, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him. With his stripes, we are healed. He was wounded for our transgressions, » right? He read all that, and then he was saying to himself, «Who is this person»?
Now, at the same time, Philip has been summoned by an angel to go to that place. So he was going south, right? So the angel told Philip to intercept him. But watch this: He was reading. Now, here’s where the Lord corrected me. He goes, «And the Lord, you know, sort of like, tell me, 'Son, you must tell people also, '» right, «'that they need to have a teacher that God puts on their heart, '» right?
Usually it’s your pastor, amen. But there are teachers all over the world that God has raised, amen. But usually it’s your pastor because if you listen to the rhema of the church, every church should have a rhema for that particular Sunday, amen? It will carry you in the specificities of your life for that week, okay? And what the Lord said to me was this: When Philip came to the chariot, have you noticed that, that the Bible says, why did Philip go near the chariot? Read your Bible. It says, «Then the Holy Spirit said to Philip, Join yourself to this chariot». Who spoke? The Holy Spirit. «Join yourself to this chariot».
My question is this. There are people who say, «I read the Bible. I just depend on the Holy Spirit». The Holy Spirit uses people and uses Bible teachers. How many of you read portions before, right, in the Bible and you don’t understand? Then you pick up a book. You listen to a message on that portion of Scripture, and then that person, be honest, opens up that passage for you. That’s the Holy Spirit using that person to answer your prayer, to answer your request, amen.
So watch this: The Holy Spirit did not tell the Ethiopian, did not teach the Ethiopian person as he was reading the Bible. The Holy Spirit was there. The Holy Spirit was there, close enough to tell Philip, «Join yourself to this chariot, » and yet the Holy Spirit did not tell the Ethiopian eunuch who the man was that this passage was talking about. The Holy Spirit could have taught him. But the Holy Spirit told Philip, «Join yourself. I’m gonna use you, » right? It’s obvious. The Holy Spirit used Philip. Then Philip said, «What is this you are reading»? He said, «Do you understand what you read»? He says, «I don’t understand unless someone guide me».
And then Philip came onto his chariot, and Philip expounded in the Scriptures about Jesus. Can I have a good amen? Praise the Lord. Are you with me so far, amen? Now, you don’t have to have Pastor Prince. There are many other good Bible studies around. But usually you find that the ones that really, really open up to you are people who are there to teach you, all right? So that’s something that I want you to see. You know, it helps you because if you study the Bible just on your own, without a guide, you tend to want to read those things that you know anyway, but you want to read them, your favorite parts, whereas if there’s a teacher, a teacher brings you to all those places and brings the gospel out of them, okay?
The Emmaus Road Experience
Now, this is how you look at the Bible teachers. One of the things I want to share with you, I know I’ve shared this before, but I’m gonna bring this in a fresh way. I believe it’s gonna help you. Look at the Emmaus Road experience. «Now behold, two of them, » on the day of Jesus’s resurrection. When Jesus rose from the dead… now imagine if you rose from the dead, you just rose from the dead! What is your priority, huh? «I’m gonna walk with two persons who are discouraged». That’s what his… the same day. «Behold, two of them were traveling that same day».
If you read the verses before this, it’s the same day Jesus rose from the dead, amen? So they were traveling to a village called Emmaus. Emmaus means warm bath, like a sauna. Warm bath, all right? «Which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened».
By the way, they have just uncovered the Emmaus, there are a few contenders of Emmaus, but the Emmaus of 7 miles have been uncovered. Josephus actually talked about it, and it’s exactly 7 miles, okay? «And they talked together of all these things which had happened, » most likely husband and wife, okay? And they were walking on the day of Resurrection, and they were talking about what had happened. And the Bible says, «It was while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them». He rose from the dead just a few hours ago in the morning! What is he doing, doing something so commonplace, so homely, so ordinary, walking? He joined them. He listened to them and he walked with them.
They’re just talking about what happened for the past few days, obviously about Jesus, the cross, the Crucifixion. Amen? And on that day itself, the Resurrection, they heard some women coming from the tomb, saying that they didn’t find the body and all that, and they are discussing it with one another. And Jesus joined them. So ordinary. What is more commonplace than having fellowship with someone over at coffee? And all of a sudden, you know, someone else comes and join you at the table. Doesn’t he have more important things to do? No, he just walked with two discouraged disciples, his own disciples. And then the Bible says, «Their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him».
Why Their Eyes Were Restrained
Now some of you heard me share this already. So I’m gonna tell you this: For years, I don’t know why some things in the Bible but, you know, gets me, you know? Like, some people don’t even bother to find out. For me, I cannot… I cannot take it. I must find out why their eyes were restrained. Why would Jesus want to restrain their eyes so that they don’t recognize him, right? So I looked up many commentaries. And the commentaries, many of them, they just skip this part. They don’t even explain, or I don’t find one that explain the way the Lord shared with me after that.
Now, some of you know what I’m going to share already on this particular aspect. He restrained their eyes. That means that supernatural power kept them from seeing who he is, from recognizing him. Isn’t it better to show them, «Look, guys, the print of the nails. Look at my side, the mark of a spear that pierced my side so that rivers of love will flow out for you, » all right? He didn’t show them. He restrained their eyes from seeing him. And then he asked them, «What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and you are sad»? So they start telling him, «Are you a stranger? Don’t you know what happened recently»? And they said that «Jesus of Nazareth, I mean, he does all kinds of miracles. We thought», drop down, they said, «We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel».
The Problem of Self-Occupation
Now, whenever, I’m gonna say this, and this is gonna help you, okay? It’s really to help you. The biggest problem with all of us is that why are we so easily conscious of ourselves, shy, angry, bitter, feel that we have a sense of entitlement? Why do we… you know why? We are too self-occupied. We get hurt because we are too self-occupied. We don’t know how to set ourself free. We think about ourselves all the time. Every little pain, every little discomfort in our mind, in our thoughts, and all that shows that we are very self-occupied.
And the whole purpose of the Bible is to free you from that and to keep you occupied with Christ, his beauty and glory, amen. Like the woman at the well, she was self-occupied. Why did she came in the afternoon, in the mid-afternoon, when the sun is so hot? Most women would go draw water from the well early in the morning or late in the evening. But she went in the noontime, and Jesus was there, sitting down after a long journey. He came as a man. So he felt tired. Every night, he would sleep just like all of us. That’s not sin. That’s becoming a man, amen? And the disciples had gone to buy food.
So the woman came in the afternoon, and you know the story, how he asked her for a favor, amen, and she says, «How come you are a Jew, you ask me»? and all that, and then finally, he says, «The water that I’ll give, you will drink of it, you will never thirst again». Then she says, «And I», «Call your husband here». «I have no husband». And Jesus says, «You are right. You had five husbands. And the one that you’re living with is not your husband».
You see, Jesus had to tell her, «I know all about you, » in order to make her really feel loved. Because when people think that you love them but they think in their heart, «You don’t know who I am and what I’m hiding, » they don’t really feel loved. They think that you love the facade. But Jesus need to tell her, «I know all about you. And I’m still here. I love you». That is love. He revealed himself to her as the Messiah. «I who speak unto you, I am he». Then she knows «The Messiah is talking to me. Jesus, the Anointed One, the Promised One, » down through the pages of the Bible, «is now here and telling me he knows all about me and he loves me».
This is John chapter 4. John chapter 3, a ruler of the synagogue came to Jesus. Jesus never said, «I am the Messiah, » to him. Jesus told him, «You know, with all your knowledge, you have to be born again». To her, he never used the word «born again». He revealed himself to her! He didn’t reveal himself to the master of Israel, someone who’s a theologian of theologians. Do you get it? He loves the lowly-hearted. The only part of the law that’s engraved on stones are the Ten Commandments. And it was never designed to give you life. The law was designed to make you feel like a sinner, yes, but the law is until Christ came, the book of Galatians tells us. And now the Holy Spirit does the job, amen? Are you with me so far?
The Glory of the New Covenant
Ah, we’re coming to something very important here, and we need to hear the fullness of it, okay? Listen carefully. Moses’s face had a glory, but the glory was fading away. So you know what Moses did? He knew it was fading away. He’s a very smart pastor. You know what he did? He covered his face. Why did he cover his face? The Bible tells us the reason. He covered his face because if he didn’t cover his face, the people saw, initially, they saw the glory in his face. He covered it because the glory was passing away. If the people see the glory passing away, they will say, «What happened to Moses»?
So to avoid all these things, he covered his face. When he goes into the holy of holies, or rather when he goes before God, before the tent of meeting, and meets God, he takes it off, all right? And then when he goes out to the people, he puts it on. The Bible says we are no more under that, because our glory is ever increasing. Let me read that. «How will the ministry of the Spirit», that’s the ministry of all of us, compared with the ministry of death? Okay, can you see that? «It’s more glorious». If that is not enough, the next verse, it says, «If the ministry of condemnation had glory».
Now he calls the ministry of death «condemnation». What you feel all the time, you sit under this kind of ministry, you feel condemned, you feel condemned, you feel guilty, you feel condemned, you feel condemned, you feel condemned. Condemnation kills, my friend! Condemnation kills. «If the ministry of condemnation had glory».
Now, there are some revivals in the past, they used condemnation a lot. And still there was some glory. But we haven’t seen a revival of the New Covenant kind of revival, amen? You ain’t seen nothing yet, all right? «If the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory»! We have not seen anything yet!
Imagine telling the people, «Sinners, listen! God is not counting your sins against you! Repent, change your mind about God! Come to him, not go away from him! He’s not counting your sins against you! To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them». «So we, the apostles, we beseech you by the grace of God: Be ye reconciled to God. It’s your move. God is not holding anything against you. All your sins are paid for in the body of his Son. Who is he that condemns, » amen?
All right, the ministry of righteousness. Ministry of condemnation had glory. Don’t ever say… some of those revivals that’s based on condemnation, don’t say there was no glory. There’s glory there. But that glory is fading away. That’s why many of them, the converts, don’t last. Many of them, that kind of revival don’t last. God is bringing a revolution all over the world of the New Covenant, of the gospel of Jesus Christ. «The ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious, » the Old Covenant, «had no glory in this respect, » cannot compare with the New Covenant, «because of the glory that excels».
Grace vs. Law and Freedom from Sin
We’ll stop here. And I just wanna tell you this: This whole thing has got to do… make sure you understand what is law and what is grace. Does that mean that we are not under law, there’s license to sin? That’s always the fear, right? That’s what they accused Paul of. No. No license, no power of sin, why? The strength of sin is the law. In fact, when you are not under law, there’s no… you find that sin becomes unattractive and grace becomes attractive. And you are drawn more and more to the Lord. And the more you are drawn to the Lord, the more you love the Lord, you will fall out of love with all these things supernaturally natural, amen.
People like to say, you know, those who preach grace, right, they say that you can fornicate, you know, you can do whatever you want, you can live like the devil, doesn’t matter. Grace covers it. You never hear me preach this. You never hear me preach this. And all my sermons are out there. You never hear me preach this. And be careful of people who take one portion of my sermon. Listen to the whole sermon. Take one, you know, sound bite, and then put it out there.
Listen to the entire thing. You will never hear me say, all right, «You can live in sin, and then grace covers everything». I don’t know. You wanna talk about other grace teachers who teach that? Talk about them, not this house, not this house. I’ve never preached that and I never will. You know why? Because sin will have no dominion over you. When you are truly under grace, you’re conscious of his love for you, sin will lose its power. That woman at the well left Jesus, right? And she became so bold. She come, «Come and see the man who told me everything about myself».
She didn’t realize she became an evangelist, amen. Amen, she was now bold. You know why? «Because he knows all about me and he still loves me. He unveiled himself as the Messiah to me». And another thing, she’s no more self-occupied, going there quietly, looking around. She’s now bold. Why? She’s occupied with the One, the object of beauty that is lovelier than anything else on earth, and even in heaven. He is our object of beauty, amen? Time’s up! Go back and read your Bibles, amen? Don’t forget: law, blue color; righteousness, brown color. All right?
You choose what color you want, okay? Every head bowed, every eye closed all across this place, and for those who are watching, I pray this has blessed you, amen. And I pray that when you go home, tell God, speak love, grace to your children. Don’t find fault. It’s very hard. I’m preaching to myself. Don’t find fault first. If really need be, save that for rare occasions. Let your rare occasions be to point out fault. But let your default mode be that of pointing something good, something right, in your family. Be patient with their shortcomings, with their failures. Shine at home your life and who you reflect. Your radiance will speak more than all your preaching to your children. May your lives be a radiant light.
Closing Prayer
Lift your hands all across this place, all you radiant people. Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray, Lord, that you impart an anointing and a wisdom for your people, Lord, in all the areas that we have heard from your Spirit today, Lord, for husbands and wives, Lord, to have that wisdom and the anointing, Lord, to flow with your Spirit, not to be fault-finding all the time, to have a default mode of always murmuring, but to have a default mode by your Spirit, Lord, to look for the good, to call out the good, to be patient when there is a manifestation of weakness in our loved ones, that you will grant us, Lord, that we will shine in front of them, Lord, that they will see Jesus and be transformed. Even with our children, Lord, give us the grace and the wisdom to live life, Lord, that they can read and see Jesus. Even if they don’t read the Bible, Lord, they will read us, Lord, and be inspired to live like us. Thank you, Father. Grant that, Lord, I pray to primarily every leader of the house, Lord, and then to all the wives, Lord, and to spouses and all parents and also their children, Lord, in the aspects of being radiant for your glory. The Lord protect every one of you throughout this week from every harm and danger, from all the powers of darkness, and from all the power of the evil one. May you always be Christ-occupied and find yourself only in him, the fullness of all in all. In Jesus’s name. And all the people said, «Amen».