Joseph Prince - As Jesus Is, So Are You
The grace revolution is exploding, amen. The Apostle Paul in Acts 20 calls it the gospel of grace. So, God is restoring the gospel of grace all over the world. Can I have a good amen? There's a lot of, a lot of time that God is giving us in this world before he, his Son returns. God knows when his Son is coming back. So, none of us know, right? But we know by the activities and the way God is dealing all over the world, we know that God is giving this earth another chance. Those who have ears to hear, let him hear. God uses the simple things, the weak things, to confound the mighty, amen?
God uses what determine as weaker vessel to kill the general of the enemies of Israel in the Book of Judges. And she didn't even have a sword, she had a hammer and a nail. God used Gideon, the least in his family with a barley cake dream, God used to strengthen him. God used a boy called David against a giant that's experienced, amen. Isn't it like God to use things that are of no repute, of low esteem in the minds of men to confound the great the educated, hmm? It's God's way. The heroes, all right, the heroes in Jesus, all Jesus's parables, is always the lost, the last, the least. And when he shares his parables, he always talk about the lost, the last, the least. The lost son was given the most favor, the lost coin, the lost sheep. The last will be first.
"Oh, Pastor Prince, I didn't have faith". No, the least faith is not how much faith you have, it's who your faith is in. If you see more of him, he turns to you and say you have great faith. If you see little of him, you have little faith. Simple as that. It's him, it's not you. Can have a good amen? Last week we finished our series on the four gospels and we touched on the gospel of Luke, how it opens up with a dumb and deaf priest, Zechariah. It closes with Jesus ascending, blessing, a priest that blesses, and a group, a company of priests that are praising blessing God. No dumb priests here, amen. And a high priest today that hears our cry. So, as he ascended to heaven, we know that he's seated now at the Father's right hand, and one day he will stand up, and he'll come back for us.
I want to touch on the Lord at our Father's right hand and what that means to us today. In fact, we alluded to that towards the end of the sermon last week, and I want to continue that because during my trip, my recent trip, my working trip, actually, the Lord spoke to me in between the sessions and the Lord said to me, "I want to emphasize this truth more than ever. I gave you this truth many years ago, and I want this restored to the body of Christ". And it's the truth of 1 John 4:17. Let's look at 1 John 4:17, "Love has been perfected among us", now, I like this because this is the accurate rendition of the Greek. Your Old King James says, herein is our love, our love made perfect.
Listen, friends, it's not about your love being made perfect. It is love has been perfected amongst us, all right, love has been perfected among us. In other words, God loves us. Look at the context before that. God loves you, amen, and now God's love for you is culminated in your life, amen. It comes to its completion. God sent his Son to die for our sins. "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have bonus in the day of judgment". How do we understand that God loves us completely, how? Because the Bible says we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Now, I know in the day of judgment, there'll be a day of judgment.
You say, "Believers don't go to judgment, Pastor Prince". There is something called the judgment seat of Christ, but I want you to know something, believers, you're not there to be judged. In fact, the word "judgment seat of Christ", the word "judgment" doesn't appear in the Greek. It's called the bema seat of Christ. If y'all watched the Roman movies last time, "Ben Hur", and all that, into the place where the emperor gives the stephanos, the crown, to the winner, that place where the emperor stands to award is called bema. Yes, bema has been used also to execute and pass sentence, but the bema seat of Christ is to give rewards. The Bible says you believe on Christ, you have passed from death unto life. Another verse says that once you believe in Christ, you shall never come into judgment, never.
Your judgment is passed so at the judgment seat of Christ, you know, do you know when you stand at the judgment seat of Christ, it is a matter of getting rewards whether your work is done out of gold, divinity, divine power, silver, out of redemption based on grace, precious stones, seeing God's people like the high priest breastplate, amen, the Church of Jesus Christ. Or is your work built on wood, men's efforts? Hay, dried up glory of men. Straw, amen, all these speaks of man. You get a reward or you don't get reward, that's it, the bema seat of Christ. Do you know you're standing before Jesus in your glorified body? Do you know at the bema seat of Christ, all of us are standing before him in our glorified body?
Do you know that the one, if you call him the judge, okay, let's call him the judge. The judge is my righteousness, don't forget. The judge is your righteousness, don't forget. You're not there to be judged to go to heaven or hell, no, that's not the great white throne judgment. We'll never go there. Can I have a good amen? Boy, y'all receive a lot in a short time. That was good Bible school. That was good Bible school, amen. Praise God. Are y'all with me so far? Amen. So, you can do the right things like I'm preaching right now, but if I'm preaching for the wrong reasons, amen, it's wood, hay, and straw. But if I'm serving the Lord for all the right reasons, God is not concerned about just what you do.
Jesus told the church of Ephesus, "I know your work, your labor, and your patience". "Wah, that's very good, Pastor Prince. They have worked, they have labor, they have perseverance, patience". But then Jesus was correcting them. He was rebuking them, rebuking the leader of the church. He's saying, some things are missing. What is missing? Faith, hope, and love. Watch this in Thessalonians it says what? Your work of faith, your labor of love, your patience or perseverance of hope. So, they had the outward but faith, hope, and love is missing and now abides faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of this is love. It's not just what you do. It is why you do what you do. Can I have a good amen?
So, the Lord said to me that this verse, he wants this verse to be emphasized more and more in my ministry. He wants more and more people preaching this verse because, you know, miracles are happening. Let's read this verse, "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment". That's the primary meaning of the day of judgment, but there's also a secondary application. There's a day that comes in every believer's life where you are being tested, where you are being tried, and don't think it's God all the time. The devil can try you. Man can try you. It's a day of you being scrutinized. The word "judgment" there is being scrutinized, being checked. It's the day of crisis, amen.
In fact, the word for, one of the words for judgment is crisis, where you get crisis. It's the day of crisis. This is how you can have boldness in the day of crisis. This is how you can have boldness in the day of adversity, amen, because as he is, as he is, so are we in this world. Now, I know it doesn't translate well in other languages, but this, in English, is the most powerful nine monosyllables. As he is, so are we in this world. If it said, "As he was", it will be great enough. As he was when he was here, cleansing the leper, unstopping deaf ears, opening the eyes of the blind, raising the date. If you said, "As he was", it's good enough, but no, the Bible says the Christ that bore our sins bore our diseases in his own body on that tree rose without them. I said, he rose without them, amen. And the Father sat him at the right hand.
The Father says, "Sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool", hallelujah. That means what? As everyday pass, one more enemy under his feet. As each day pass, another enemy under his feet. All the enemies have been defeated at the cross, but they're all been gradually brought under Jesus's feet. "You sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool". And the last enemy is physical death. Physical death has been conquered at the cross, but the last enemy is called physical death. It'll be put under his feet, and that will happen in the Rapture. We'll have a brand-new body. Can have a good amen?
So, every day can look forward to one more enemy under his feet, one more enemy under his feet. Things are getting better and better for the church. When I say church, I don't mean building, okay? I mean all of you. Praise the Lord. Now, not only Christ sat down. Don't forget, he sat down as us. Hebrews 9 says he's now in the presence of God for us. In Greek, huper, on behalf of us. He's there on behalf of us, amen? So, we are seated with him. How about this? Have the same attitude that he has right now at the Father's right hand. Have the same throne attitude. You know what's the attitude? "Sit on my right hand until I make". The Father told him right, "Sit on my right hand, rest until I, the Father, make your enemies your footstool". And you are in him.
How about this? You still have those symptoms in your body. You still have those challenges besetting you. You still have those adversity, all right, screaming in your face, but the Father says to you, "Sit, sit, until I make all these enemies your footstool". Have the same attitude. I call it a throne attitude, the throne life attitude, amen. "As he is, so are we in this world". So, I used to think this and, you know, I would say, or preach, as he is righteous, so we are righteous in this world. As he is under God's unclouded favor, so are we in this world. As he's far beyond Satan, he's out of reach from Satan, so are we in this world. He can be prowling around, but a thousand can fall at our side, ten thousand at our right hand, it will not come near us. That must be our attitude. As he is, so are we in this world. Can I have a good amen?
And then the Lord whispered to me one day many years ago and said, "Son, preach it, who says it's just your position with me? It does not qualify that statement. As he is in his health, so are you in this world". Because, the Lord says, you're sharing his life. Health is actually life. Take away the life, there's no health. Your body is just an empty corpse. So, I began to preach that, and one lady, a famous lady, this lady is such a blessing. Her testimony has gone around the world. It just takes one. And unbeknownst to me, that week she would go for a mammogram, and the doctors were concerned with what they found. They found a growth in her breasts.
And then she took her report because she just heard the message I've been preaching, "As Jesus is in his health, so are we in this world". Even you have symptoms in your body, start confessing that, amen? Tell the Lord, "Do you have this disease in your body"? I said that in that sermon. And she said, she wrote a report, "Jesus, do you have lumps in your breasts"? She showed me the report. She came back and showed me the report. The next scan she went to, they found nothing, all right, so from that report has come so many reports that I do not know which one to read. You saw one just now, the one from China.
This couple that's been following my teaching, and she says that, you know, they were diagnosed with this condition that I don't even know how to pronounce it that affect their conception chances, or the quality of the baby. But look at what they did. They confessed, "As Jesus is, and Jesus doesn't have this condition, so are we in this world". And the Lord said to me recently, "Son, I want to emphasize this in the area of healing. More of my people need to hear this. I said, more of my people need to hear this, 1 John 4:17, in light of our healing". Can I have a good amen?
So, that that was a condition that came from him recently, but already testimony's been coming down through the years ever since I've been preaching this and I've been emphasizing on healing as well, but not as strong as I think I should. But from now on, this is what you're gonna get. We'll hear so many more testimonies, amen. One lady wrote to us, and she said this. I got so many testimonies I'm going to be showing today. All right, she's from New York, U.S.
"I had severe pain in my right leg". How many got severe pain in your right leg? "Especially when using the stairs or getting up. The doctors diagnosed me with arthritis and sent me for therapy. My insurance covered only 18 treatments and by the 14th treatment, there was still no improvement. During that period, my left knee also started to hurt, and I stopped therapy. Pastor Prince, I was watching your sermon where you mentioned a lady who was healed of a lump in her breast. I thought if she could experience God's healing, so could I. At that time, I didn't know Scriptures like 1 John 4:17. I just said, 'Jesus, you do not have any pain in your knees, therefore I do not have any pain in my knee too.' I cannot tell when the pain left, but when it did, I cried for the first time in years. I had stopped kneeling because of the pain, but I can now kneel without pain. I can also sit and get up from the bathroom seat without having to wait five to ten minutes for the pain to pass. I cannot thank God enough. It's a pleasure to go up and down the stairs, sit in regular chairs, bend down to pick things up for myself, and use regular bathrooms. Before that, even bathrooms for the handicap were a problem for me. At the senior center, it is a pleasure to pick things up for anyone whenever I get the chance to, instead of waiting for someone to do it for me. I try to give my testimony to everyone I hear complaining of knee pain who would listen. To God be the glory".
Isn't that amazing? Now, in ancient Israel, the high priest of Israel stands for all Israel, and that's the reason why our Jesus today, God doesn't say, "Consider the prophet Christ Jesus at the Father's right hand". Doesn't say that. It says, "Consider the high priest, the apostle and high priest of our confession". He's today our high priest. When we think about it, for 2,000 years, he's been a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, the royal priest.
Now, the high priest represents, watch this, represents the people to God. The prophet comes from God, represents God to the people. He talks to the people straight on behalf of God. The high priest represents the people to God so every year the high priest will go into the Holy of Holies, the Kadosh Hakodashim, and he will sprinkle blood because blood speaks, blood speaks. The blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of Abel. The blood of the lambs speaks forgiveness. The blood of Jesus speaks forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption from the curse, healing, life, forgiveness, amen, blessings for you and your family.
So, when the high priest goes into the Holy of Holies, he doesn't even have to talk, amen? He sprinkles the blood on the mercy seat, the Ark of the Covenant, he sprinkles the blood once. Once before God is enough. Seven times before God, before the throne, that's for your standing. You have perfect standing in the presence of God. Seven times on the ground, once before God. He lets the blood speak, he doesn't speak to God. When the Bible says Jesus makes intercession for us, you must understand, yes, I believe he's praying with his lips as well but also every token, all the marks shows that your sin has been paid.
The fact that Jesus is at the Father's right hand today means your sins were put away. Jesus cannot be where he is today, he cannot be seated at the Father's right hand if your sins were not put away. "How do you know, Pastor Prince"? Hebrews 1 says, "Having purged our sins, he sat down. Having purged, cleansed our sins, he sat down". In other words, he didn't sit down as the Son of God. He didn't sit down, that he always is. He didn't sit down as God incarnate, that he always is. He didn't sit down as King of Israel, that he is. And one day he returned, and he'll be king in Israel, amen? He will reign from David's holy city. Praise God.
But the Bible says he sat down by virtue of the fact your sins were put away. If your sins were not put away, Jesus cannot sit down. Sit down means rest. Once God gave rest after God created everything, God rested on the seventh day. The first mention of Sabbath was rest in creation, not redemption, creation. God made everything and God rested. Isn't it amazing when it comes to creation, it only takes one chapter, Genesis 1 to talk about creation. You know all the stars that people take years to study, stars that are millions of years away? Even our sun is a star. All the stars we talk about in English, five words, "He made the stars also". But when it comes to redemption, when it comes to saving men that is lost, you know, it took more than 50 chapters.
The book, the latter part of Exodus, all right, the whole Book of Leviticus, a great part of the Book of Numbers, 50 chapters, the tabernacle alone that talks about God's redemption, more than ten chapters, amen. It seems like God's priority is in redemption because creation rest was lost. Adam, man's sin, disturbed God's rest. God had to work again. God had to kill animals and clothe Adam and Eve, amen. And that's why Jesus told the Jews, "My Father is working on the Sabbath, and I work". And they say, "How can you work on the Sabbath"? "My father is working and I work".
Why is God working? Because man has disturbed his rest. Until finally Jesus, at the cross, amen, bore our sins, your sins, and my sins, and he was punished and judged for our sins. And finally, he shout, "finished"! All our sins are put away, and God rested, and this time this rest cannot be shaken. And the Bible says you and I, let us labor to enter into his rest. Anything else is unbelief, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For he that is entering into God's rest has also ceased from his own works, as God did from his. "What was that, Pastor Prince"? I don't know, it was good. It was all good, amen? Are you with me so far?
So, Jesus is at the Father's right hand. He's sitting down. You see, the priests, all the priests in the Old Testament, they never sat down. They never sat down because everyday people sin, they have to bring new sacrifices. They have a table, but they have no seat. The table of showbread, but there's no seat in the temple. So, they're always working, always working, always working. Our high priest sat down, but you need to understand why he's there. You know, when we think of Jesus, please don't think that, "Oh, he's there as God". That he always is.
You're looking at a preacher that emphasizes Jesus's deity, which nowadays is not being emphasized, very strongly, do I? Y'all know that. But when you think of Jesus as the Father's right hand, God wants to know that one of you made it, a man made it. A man is now in glory. We call him the heavenly man, hallelujah. He's a man representing you and I. His heart beats with the affections and sympathies of a man. He understands what a man goes through. He's been here. He sat where you sat, amen. He clapped. He bled. He cried. He died. He knows what it's like to be a man. He gave his life for you. He loved you. So, the same Jesus at the Father's right hand is man forever!
So, God wants to think, when you think of Jesus, don't think God is there. No, God is there as Father, but Jesus is God. Don't take anything away, 100% God. But God wants you to know him as man. He's also 100% man, the only baby born to die. Christmas is coming again, amen, and we'll celebrate his Incarnation, but why? You see, in those days, John's, the apostles' days, they said, "If any spirit does not confess Jesus Christ came in the flesh, it is not of God". Why? Why must I confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh? Hey, listen, every baby, you and I were born. We all came in the flesh, right? How else do you come? So why is it that anyone that does not confess Jesus Christ come in the flesh, is come in the flesh, is not of God, is a spirit of Antichrist? Because to say that we were born in the flesh, Jesus Christ came in the flesh. It suggests a preexistence. He's the only one who can come in the flesh. In other words, he's 100% God, he's 100% man. Are you with me so far?
So he's nigh at the Father's right hand. Why is he at the Father's right hand? Because he purchased our sins. You see him sitting down there? Rest. Your sins are put away. If you sin today, he's not gonna get up again, "Oh, die again". He's not gonna come and die again. You understand? Because, when he hung there on the cross because he is God, and God, who took your sins, is God the Father, who lives outside time because God created time. Time was made by him. So God is able to take the sins that you've committed from the day you first committed your sin in your life until the day you meet Jesus face-to-face. Don't talk about death, okay?
The Bible actually don't use language like, "One day, we die". Paul always talks about looking forward for the hope, for the hope. He's coming. He's coming. He's coming. That's a scriptural attitude. Are you listening? Amen, so until the day you meet Jesus face-to-face, all your sins was put on the body of Jesus at the cross. Not one sin. So today you say that "I just sinned just now, Pastor Prince, on my way here". Well, what's your response? "Thank the Lord it is forgiven".
Now, does that mean you wanna sin more? No. Whoever is forgiven much, they will love him much. If you keep on sinning, live a lifestyle of sin, I question whether you are born again in the first place, amen. A sinner sometimes do good, right? But he's still a sinner. A true believer sometimes sin, but he's a believer, amen. Are you with me so far? So when you think of Jesus at the Father's right hand, think of this: Israel, if their high priest goes into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement, and he dies there, and they have to pull him out, okay, guess what? Too bad.
Everyone go home and be expecting a very bad, gloomy, dark year ahead of you. But if the high priest comes out and his hands lifted with a smile on his face, the people scream. Why? Because they know that God accepted him, amen. They look forward for a great, bountiful, blessed, victorious year. The promise is from year to year because it's temporal. It's based on the blood of bulls and goats. It is not eternal, but our salvation, our redemption is not based on the blood of bulls and goats. It's based on the eternal blood of the Son of God. It's the blood of God that streams in Immanuel's veins. The blood has been shed and is eternal, my friend, hallelujah.
So if the high priest is good and the people are bad, which usually is the case, God accepts the entire nation anyway, amen, but the high priest is bad and the nation is good, which usually is not the case, God rejects the entire nation because of the high priest, and it's never secure because, if the good man has been there every year, and every year he comes out an old man, very elderly, he's now 119 years old, okay, he's about to be 120. He's dying, all right. He's very old, and his son is a party animal. His son, you know, goes to Jerusalem discotheque. Jerusalem didn't exist, neither the disco he goes.
I understand, all right, trying to express, but he's a party animal. He takes drugs, "wilderness drugs", they call it, and he's always, "Cool man, cool. I gotta go in the Holy of Holies and talk to God. Hey-hey, hey-hey, hey, you didn't bring in the blood, Blood. Yo, man. Yo, there. I got a blood going". Can you imagine a priest like that? And he's the next in line. He's the next in line, and can you imagine the high priest is, the greater, the good high priest is getting old, and the son is like this. So their heart is never secure. This is what Israel is faced, no security. But the Bible says our high priest lives, lives after the power of an endless life.
In other words, is Jesus good? God accepts you, amen. Is Jesus under God's favor? God accepts you. You must understand this principle of representation. Like Israel, when the Philistines stand on one corner and, "on one corner", it sounds like, on the mountain, actually. Israel's standing on a mountain. Finally, Philistines says, "Hey, hey, hey, guys, let's not fight. Send your champion, and we'll send our champion". And their champion came down, very ugly and very tall and missing a tooth, and all these are very sensitive to talk about nowadays because everybody's sensitive.
Okay, he had a tooth challenge. He was aesthetically challenged. He was a hair rechallenge. He was follicularly challenged, and he came down, right? And he says, "Why fight? Why all of us fight? So many lives lost. Just send your champion to fight with moi". You all know the story. No one in Israel, no soldier dead, and then David went down. Young David. He didn't even go down in a soldier's armor. He went down as a shepherd. It's a beautiful picture of the greatest son of David that would go and fight Goliath. All right, didn't use a weapon. One single stone went up, up, up, "And the giant came tumbling down". "Poom", that's it. Case closed.
I told you, God used the weak things to confound the mighty. And David did something that all Hollywood horror shows should learn from. When the giant is down, don't kiss the girl yet. Cut off the giant's head because invariably they always get up while you're kissing. So David went and took the sword and decapitated the giant's head, amen. Now he's deader than dead, amen. So David, and the strange thing here, and the Bible says, I know you all noticed this. Noticed this a number of years ago. And David threw the head. There was the Valley of Elah, which is miles and miles away from Jerusalem. David threw Goliath's head back to Jerusalem and buried it.
Why would David do that? Why not just bury it down there? 'Cause Elah is miles and miles away from Jerusalem. I've been through Elah. Many of you have been through Elah. You'll have to take a bus, journey for some time to reach Elah from Jerusalem where your hotel is, right? David took the head all the way to Jerusalem and buried it. That's how the story ends. Let me tell you this: Years ago, I found a little rabbinical, now, you must understand, rabbinical teachings, they're not for Jesus, but this is what it said, all right? There is a mountain, okay, a little mountain that came over the skull of Goliath that David buried. Later on became higher and higher, all right? And it began to call "Golgolia", the Mount of Goliath. Became corrupted later on. The word became "Golgappa ", "the place of the skull", where a greater Son of David will be crucified there where Goliath's head was crucified.
The promise, the first prophecy to Adam and Eve was that the woman's seed will crush the serpent's head. So Satan represent the devil, and Jesus was crucified there, crushing the serpent's head. The greater Son of David will conquer Satan, amen, hallelujah, and save us, redeem us from the curse, bless us, amen? And he rose from the dead. You must understand, when Jesus rose from the dead the same body that carried not only your sins, but your diseases, rose without it and is seated at the Father's right hand. "So what is he doing there, Pastor Prince? Is that all"? No, measure your identity today in that person at the Father's right hand.
The devil will come to you and say, "Look, look at your thoughts just now. When Pastor Prince was talking about that, about this, you are angry at Pastor Prince, huh? You had the... look at your thoughts. Look at your thoughts". The devil always come to you and say, "Look at your thoughts. Look at your thoughts. Look at your emotions. You call yourself a Christian? Just now, when you saw this lady coming in, you said, 'I know why she's here. She's back in our church because, you know, we have more men, and she's single'". You know, and before you realize it, "Oh, goodness, I'm worshiping the Lord". It was during praise and worship, you had that thought.
You see, we live in a world like this. Is there anyone that doesn't live there? We live in a world like this, and to say, "Stop that, stop this, stop that", it's not enough. Before, we wanna stop, but we didn't realize it was happening. Many a time, we don't realize it's happening until, you know, it's happening. So they call it the flesh. So guess what? When that happens and the devil comes to you and he points you to you. He always points you to you. The Holy Spirit in you will point you to Jesus and say, "Look, look, look at his thoughts". And that's why one of my teachings on the high priest, I have this golden temple that the high priest wears. It's called holiness to the Lord, and it says this in the verse, Exodus 28. It says that as long as that golden temple is on the high priest's head, the people, the people are accepted, amen?
So that means what? Jesus don't have to have a golden crown. His thoughts are golden. His thoughts are pure, and the Bible says that, as long as his thoughts are pure, you are accepted. And how long do you think Jesus's thoughts will be pure? Forever, and you are forever accepted, amen. So devil comes to you and says, "Look at you. All right, you mean you pray? Even you read your Bible"? He says, "It's not enough. So-and-so prays three hours. You only pray ten minutes", or you read three chapters of the Bible and, oh, you read Pastor Prince's daily devo, or whatever, all, right, "Oh, it's not enough. This person reads four different devos. He even writes his own". You know?
So, "Look, look at this person. Look at that person". He always compare horizontally. That's what the devil does. Even you do good, it's not good enough. Nag, nag, nag, nag, but the Holy Spirit come and say, "Look at Jesus. As he is, so are you in this world". Is he righteous? So are you. I know you don't feel it, but God is saying forget about your feeling. Your feeling is just your feeling. Reality is God. God says, "This man is how I assess you. I'm looking at this man to judge you. I'm looking at this man to estimate you. I'm looking at this man. As he is, so are you in this world". The question is not "Am I good enough"? Is he good enough at the Father's right hand? The question, "Am I accepted? Am I accepted"? The question is "Is he accepted at the Father's right hand"? "Is God favoring me today"? Is he being favored by God?
I wanna be in the secret place of the Most High in Psalms 91. I wanna be in the secret place of the Most High. Is he in the secret place of the Most High? See, the Holy Spirit always brings your thoughts to Jesus, and therefore, all the preaching in the pulpit has gotta be an exposition of Jesus. And now we have a vested interest in seeing Jesus, even in all his titles, officials, glories, and all that, because we know that we are joint heirs with Jesus. As he is, so are we in this world. So whenever someone talks about Jesus, I listen because he is my investment. He's talking about me. I need to know more about Jesus. Why? Because, as he is, so am I in this world. Can I have a good, "Amen"?
Those of you investing in shares and stocks and all that, I mean, you're able to train yourself, but look at all the other shares and stocks that you're not investing in. You bypass them all, and you look exactly at what you are interested in. Same thing, all right? We're interested in Jesus. We preach Jesus. We wanna hear sermons about Jesus. Jesus himself taught us, when he rose from the dead, he went through the Road of Emmaus because there were two, I believe, husband and wife, Cleopas and Mrs. Cleopas, walking back the seven-mile journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus, and they were troubled. They were downcast. Why? Because their eyes were taken off Jesus.
The centrality of your heart is not Jesus. In fact, they told Jesus, not knowing it's Jesus there, saying that "We thought it was he that should redeem Israel". So Israel was the focus. Maybe you are discouraged today. Maybe you are downcast today because Jesus is not your center. Your business is. Maybe Jesus is not your center. Your child is. And you use Jesus for your center, so they were trying, we thought it was he, so Jesus was on the site. We thought it was he that should redeem Israel, and Jesus says, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe". And the Bible says they hid their eyes from seeing who he was. And he says all, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe", two indictments against the church today.
"Fools" means what? They don't have knowledge. When you don't have knowledge, you're foolish in that area. So the problem with the church today is either they are foolish or if they have knowledge. Jesus says, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe". They are slow to believe. And what's the solution for this thing? For foolishness, ignorance, and also for unbelief? Jesus began to expound things concerning himself in the Old Testament. And He was an Old Testament, the New Testament wasn't written yet. He expound from Moses, the first five books, things concerning himself.
So when I say just now, not the entire Bible is Gospel, I still teach a lot from the Old Testament because you can bring the types, and now you bring Jesus out of it. It's now the Gospel. Are you listening? You talk about the burnt offering, the high priest teachings just now. It's all from the Old Testament. But when you bring Christ into it, it's now the Gospel. It's no more just the Word of God. It's the Word of Christ, and "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ", amen? Are you with me so far?
So just to say, "Lord Jesus, as you are, so am I in this world", so I say things like, "Lord Jesus, as you are young", do you know he never grows old in heaven? The Bible use the phrase, "the dew of his youth is on him". So I say, "Lord Jesus", I said, "You are young, and so am I, young, in this world". I don't think, "Oh", sometimes I get up, and I feel like, "argh, I wanna go down there". It's a day I'm really tired. Have you been there before? You feel like you're going there. After, for a while, you are there, you know? And you're doing the things that you're doing, and then you realize that it was all just a dream. You're still here. Have you been there before?
You know, you can see yourself doing all those things. Realize it's still there. When that thing happens, you know, I look to Jesus, and I say, "Lord, Jesus, as you are strong, healthy, at the Father's right hand, so am I in this world". Then put action. You believe it? Do you believe it? Get up. Start moving. "Lord, here I am". Sometimes the devil try to put lying symptoms on my body. I'm not saying that it's always instantaneous. I put a caveat there. The manifestation is not always instantaneous, but honor the Lord. Honor the statement, "As he is, so am I in this world".
One time, I had a lying symptom of a terrible shoulder pain. I said, "Oh, man, it's gonna be a lousy day. I'm gonna be this, and I'm under the attack, you know. The devil don't want me to preach this Sunday", and that kind of thing. Something rose up in me, "As he is, so are you, not as this pain is, so are you". So, "Lord Jesus, as you are strong in every way, healthy, Lord", I went to a push-up position, which is the worst thing you can do for one, "Thank you, Lord, as you are, so am I in this world". All right, it wasn't so vigorous. It was more like, thank you. Okay, "As you are", don't laugh. One day, I'll do it, okay? Not here.
Now, I wake up and realize it's a dream. So put action, amen, honor the Lord. If you feel, "I don't feel like going out. I don't feel like going to work today. I feel so tired. In fact, I feel a fever coming on. I feel like my nose is about to run", or "I feel a sore throat", get up. Shake it off and say, "Lord, as you are, so am I in this world", and start acting healthy. Start acting strong. Start acting young. Start acting dynamic, amen. Because this is not based on exercise, and I'm not against exercise and all that kind of thing, but it's based on redemption. Everything of creation has fallen, but redemption, based on what Christ did, still stands.
See, you must understand, the world, understandably, and I'm not knocking it, the world depends on diet, which the creation has fallen, all right? The world depends on creation. They tell you, "Use your body, exercise". And I believe in exercise. It makes me feel good, amen, but exercise shall be an expression of your faith, not an expression of trying to get something you think you don't have. I just said a mouthful. Exercise, like what I said just now, shall be an expression of 1 John 4:17, because, "As he is, so am I in this world", I can exercise, but not to get, but because you are, mm? One more testimony. This is from a lady from New York.
"In August 2012, I was diagnosed with M-A-L-T lymphoma, stomach cancer. After having an endoscopy for stomach problems, I underwent various scans and tests over a period of two months after the first endoscopy. Earlier that year, my husband and I had just found the teachings by Joseph Prince, and we were listening regularly to his messages. After the diagnosis in August, we began partaking of the Holy Communion daily and also confessing that, as Jesus is in heaven, so am I in this world, free of cancer. We continued praying, and as the hospital continued to do other tests to decide what treatment to give me, a CT scan in early October showed that the cancer had spread into the jejunum. That was when they decided to do a push enteroscopy to look deeper into my stomach and small intestine. I went for the procedure that morning, having the most amazing peace. The doctor came in and asked me what I have been doing since the first endoscopy two months earlier. My husband and I stated that we had prayed. The doctor told us that my stomach looked nothing like it did two months prior. The biopsy came back, this time showing no cancer. We thank our Lord Jesus for his sacrifice at Calvary".
Praise the name of Jesus, isn't God good? So whatever it is, look to the Lord, amen? Tell Lord, "Lord, as you are free from this condition". Whatever it is, he's free from it. "But Pastor Prince, I have a woman condition, female condition". Don't forget this whole thing was sparked off by the lady with a lump in the breast, you know. Who wrote down, "Jesus, do you have lumps in your breast"? Friend, when he bore your sins, he bore male and female sins. When he bore your diseases, it's male and female diseases, amen. So, just telling him, "As you are free from this disease, A, B, C, whatever it is, so am I in this world".
Now, does that mean it will come immediately? No. There are times it comes immediately, but the Holy Spirit, you see, all you can do is to behold his glory. It's the Holy Spirit that changes you. Look at here, 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18, "But we all with unveiled face". See, unveiled face, you can read the context, it's about law and grace. All right, Moses, who represents the law, hid a veil on his face, why? His glory was fading, amen. But Jesus has no veil on his face because his is ever increasing splendor. You and I have no veil on our faces, amen.
This is very smart of Moses because your face shine now and you talk to the people, after for a while, they see the face don't shine anymore, they will say that, "Ah, Moses, something wrong with Moses". So Moses, you know what he did? When his face shone, he put a veil so that people will not see the glory that's passing away. Smart guy. But then that's brings forth a religion of covering up, which is not grace. Grace thrives on your weakness. Grace manifests through your shortcomings. Your disqualifications are your qualifications for grace, amen. Can I have a good amen? But grace does not leave you where you are. Grace will empower you. But the empowerment comes later, after you realize grace is unearned, undeserved favor. And all the people said amen.
So, as you are, Lord Jesus, what was your problem? Just say, "Lord Jesus, as you are, so am I in this world". "Pastor Prince, I don't have enough faith". See this lady here, this lady here who shared her testimony, and she has bipolar. Let me just find that, that sharing. "I would like to thank", Her name is Jackie. "I'd like to thank Joseph Prince Ministries for standing by me in prayer. A month and a half ago, I sent a prayer request to your ministry asking to be prayed for so that Jesus would heal me of bipolar II disorder".
Did I get it right, you say bipolar II disorder? Or is it bipolar 11? Anyway, it's a bipolar disorder. "I have been struggling with this illness since 2009, and it has been an unbelievably painful rollercoaster ride for me. This illness has no cure, and day by day, I had to live with crippling social phobia, low self-worth, and several mood swings every other hour. I had cut off all contact with friends and family, and I prayed for death constantly. One day, I came across Joseph Prince on television talking about how as". You must understand now when I read all this Joseph Price, a few of you really just focus, "Ah, he's talking about himself". It's he. I've been emphasizing him, right? And this is no joke. People who have this condition, they really go through pain.
"One day, I came across Joseph Prince on television talking about how as Jesus is at the Father's right hand, so are we in this world. I started to profess that just as Jesus's brain is, just as his mental health is, so is mine in this world". Now, look at this, what she said. "I did not even have faith. I professed healing verses daily like a robot. And I went about my daily life planning to seek treatment. A few days into it", confessing this verse, "I started to notice really odd changes. I had stopped feeling anxious, though anxiety has been part and parcel of my life. As days went by, I received this outstanding knowledge and faith in my heart that I was healed. I don't even know how that came about because I was not operating out of faith at all".
Does that help us? "I am glad to report that it's been one and a half months, and I'm completely healed. My mind is completely clear, my self-esteem is fully restored, I'm basically normal. Joseph Price, thank you so much, you'll never know how much you". Praise God, give Jesus the praise and the glory and the honor, hallelujah. In Mark chapter 6, Jesus was on a mountain. "Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat".
Now, this was right after the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. He fed more than probably 10,000 people, but 5,000 men were mentioned, plus women and children, probably 10,000 to 15,000 or even 20,000. And now, he went up the mountain, which I believe is Mount Arbel. If you go to Israel, in fact, there is an elderly gentleman there who has been guiding for many, many years. He told me this, "I'll give you credit for this", he told me. "All right, Mount Arbel, I first heard you mention Mount Arbel as a candidate, and I think it is, okay".
So I'll tell you why, and because Jesus went up the mountain. And the mount, the highest mountain among the Lake of Galilee in Israel is Mount Arbel. And look at this picture of Mount Arbel. Our pastors were there with me standing over Mount Arbel. And many of you have been there. But what happen is that if you turn to the right, turn to the right, next, you have this beautiful view. And can you see the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount? All right, there's a church down there now. That's where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.
Can you imagine all the people sprawled across the rolling hills, amen? And he's preached the Sermon on the Mount right there. And one of the best acoustics ever, you don't even have to have a microphone. Just stand down there, you just raise your voice just a bit, and it rolls down the mountain, okay? We have done that experiment before. All right, pan to the right a bit more, now we are going down. That's Pastor Mathews down there. All right, he even looks cool from behind. So, we are climbing down this very high mountain, it's the highest in this region. And still looking at the sea.
Okay, next. Now looking towards the sea, okay, from the edge of Mount Arbel. Now look closer, can you see, we didn't plan for this, but there's a boat in the center of the lake, can you see that? Can you see that? Right, those who can see are pure in heart, can you see it? Can you see it? Okay, to help you feel less backslidden, we'll circle it for you there. Okay, now you see it. Now, we didn't plan for this, we didn't ask someone to go down there, but that's the perspective that Jesus looked down when he saw the disciples rowing.
Let's go back to the passage of Scripture. "Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat". He sent the crowd away, the one that he just fed with 12 baskets full leftover. He sent the crowd away, he went up Mount Arbel, and then he sent the disciples the way that you saw our pastors go down, probably that way down to the lake, to take the boat to Bethsaida, all right, while he sent the multitude away. "And when Jesus had sent them away, he departed to the mountain to pray".
Now, this is a beautiful picture of Jesus. There's no what do you call that? Insignificant detail in the Bible. He went up to the mountain to pray. Where is he today? He's making intersession for us at the Father's right hand. He's active. He's at the Father's right hand. Where's the church today? Here. We are down here. We are the body of Christ, but we are down here, amen? Down here is where you are subject to the winds of adversity. Here's where you are faced with the troubles of life, and even the Bible calls it every wind of doctrine that slaps you around. And the Bible says, let's go on. He was praying up there in the mountain, a picture of Jesus being exalted at the Father's right hand.
"Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea". All right, "And he was alone on the land. Then he saw them straining and rowing". I wish I can expound the word "straining". It's the word for stress, the word for painful, the word for straining. What are you straining at? Straining to get your healing, straining to put bread on the table for your family. What are you straining? Straining to overcome a habit, an unclean habit or addiction? I want to tell you something, okay? Jesus saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Do you feel like you're going through something and the wind is against you? It makes your straining even worse.
"Now about the fourth watch of the night". Now, fourth watch of the night is the darkest time of the night. You see, back in those days, they divide their nights into four, okay, four quarters, okay? Now, watch this. From 6 p.m. facing you all, okay, 6 p. m. to 9 p.m. is the first quarter, okay? From 9 p.m. to 12 p.m., second, second watch. From 12 to 3 is the third watch. From 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., only soccer players, soccer fans are, 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. is the darkest part of the night. It's called the fourth watch. And guess what? In the darkest hour, Jesus comes to them.
I told you no insignificant details in the Bible. Okay, so he came now about the fourth watch of the night. "He came to them walking on the sea, and would have passed them by". So, Jesus saw them straining, I want to tell you something. You saw the mountain just now? Obviously, somewhere there Jesus looked down and Jesus saw the boat, but we saw it in the daytime. Jesus looked down and saw them in the darkest hour. I want you to know something, he sees you. He knows what you're going through. He knows what you're stressed about, what concerns your heart, what is a burden on your shoulders. He knows what you're faced with. He knows the wind is contrary to you. He knows you're going through a trial. He is watching. He's not just out there cut off from us.
Obviously, it's not a natural watching, it's a supernatural watching because it was the darkest time. Even some of you can't even find the boat just now in broad daylight. He sees, and he knows, and he's praying for you. He's praying for you. Do you know his prayer is always heard? He's praying for you, he's praying for your situation. I don't know, I don't care whether it's scriptural, you know, application or not, but sometimes you're in trouble, you just pray a prayer that is not so scriptural, sometimes I just say, "Lord Jesus, I cannot pray anymore. I depend on your prayers".
There are times I have done that, Joseph Prince have done that. And something else happened, the whole thing turned around. I can't explain it. I believe he's praying for me. I believe he's praying for me. Are you listening, people? He's watching. His lips, praying lips. Amen? And watch this, how do you make it? "I know he's up there in heaven, pastor. He's so far away, pastor. Pastor, I wish I can touch him, pastor". No, friend, he's not so far away. Because the very next part of the story, and for this part, we go to the next gospel. Same account, same incident, Matthew's Gospel.
"Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea". So, the sea was troubling them, they were afraid of what? Being drowned. What are you afraid of, this disease will overpower you, take away your life? Well, he's going to walk on it. Jesus is going to walk on the very thing that is about to drown you. He's going to walk on it. The Lord on high is far above all the waters that trouble you. Amen, so he's walking on the sea, and the sea became pavement at his feet. "When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, 'It's a ghost!' And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid".
And we know in the original, ego eimi, it means I am. I am, that's how God introduced himself as the God of the burning bush, I am. "Don't be afraid, I am. Be of good cheer, I am". And then go on, "Peter answered him and said, 'Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water'". Whoa, all right. So Jesus says, "'Come'. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus". So, obviously all the while, they're all looking at Jesus, and Peter's eyes was on Jesus. And Peter says, "Lord, if it's you, bid me come to the water". And Jesus says, "Come", and his eye was on Jesus. He started walking to go to Jesus, obviously his eye is on Jesus.
Now, I'm showing you how to make good the fact that Jesus was on the mountain. Next thing you know, he's by their side. The Holy Spirit is teaching us how to make good in our life the reality of 1 John 4:17, "As he is, so are we in this world". Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Can Peter make himself jump on the water to sustain himself? Can Peter walk on the water? Is there any scientist, anyone who can say, "Yeah, I know how to walk on the water"? No, it's beyond man. But as long as his eye was on Jesus, he became what? Supernatural. All these testimonies I'm sharing is supernatural. It's not natural, it's not creation, it is redemption, amen. Nothing to do with the will of man. I don't care how intelligent you are, how smart you are.
All right, man can fail, God cannot. The things that are impossible with man is possible with God, amen? Man's extremities is God's opportunity, hallelujah, amen. And it's time for man to stop trying to provide for his own pleasure, draw from his own limited resources, lean on his puny brain, and try to sustain himself and his family and people around him that he loves in this life. You cannot afford to do that. All right, it's time for us to realize we are sinners, we have fallen, this earth is fallen, and accept God's verdict. We still want to resuscitate creation. Nothing happened to creation, it was all well and okay. And we are trying to prop up a corpse that's dead and it's stinking.
The Lord says, "Learn to accept the new creation. I have something better. I have something better than creation. I have redemption", hallelujah, amen. When Jesus put the mud on the eyes of the blind man, he was still blind. In fact, when you put anything on the eyes of the blind man, he's blinder. But then Jesus sent him to a pool called Siloam, the pool of redemption, because that pool represents Jesus Christ. It means the sent one, the one sent by the Father to save us. Hallelujah, then when the guy came and washed his eyes, now what creation does, man is made from dust, what creation cannot do, redemption supplied. What the law cannot give, grace supplied. Stop relying on ourself, meagre resources. Okay?
So, his eye was on Jesus. And as Jesus is above the waters, don't forget darkest part of the night, winds were going. You know, when you are there, we experiment one time. Most of you don't get to do this because you have your schedule. Night schedule is usually time for Singaporeans to eat at the hotel. By the time you all eat, you all want to sleep, right? My pastors and I, I told them, "How about we have a night ride on the boat in the Lake of Galilee"? We've done that a number of times, so we decided to charter a boat. We went right nearly, we only made it halfway to the middle. I want to feel what they felt.
Now, the way I looked, it's very calm, okay? I can see the lights in Tiberius and all that, and it's okay, you know? But don't forget it was stormy when Jesus was there, the disciples were there. And try to imagine, then the wind started blowing. "You want reality"? the Lord says. "Let me turn up a bit of drama for you", all right? And all the pastors that were with me, they remember this, it got choppy, all right? It got choppy. I tell you, all our prayer lives improved like that. You talking about instantly. We realized what did we get ourselves into? It's dark, amen, amen? And we got Pastor Mark onboard, you know? Got to save him before you can save yourself.
So, the thing is this, I'm thinking to myself, "Whoa". You know, it got really choppy. And even the boatman says, "Guys, we can't go". All right, because the winds just rise up suddenly, all right, through a funnel, the mountains of Mount Arbel, the via Maris. And very fast it can just hit without you knowing, that's why they were caught. They were experienced fishermen, but they were caught. Do you feel being caught sometimes by a trial? You are a guy who has degrees to your name, you are smart.
People say you score this level for your IQ and all that. I got nothing to knock against all that, I'm just saying but still the trials come, doesn't it? It catches you suddenly, isn't it? Only Jesus can help you. Only the Lord can be the object of your devotion and worship. No other person, including yourself, should be that position. So, Peter looked at Jesus. Oh yeah, we made it safely, you all know, right? I had to tell for some people. "You all make it"? Yeah, we did, all right. We were very happy to go back, actually. And as long as his eye was on Jesus, he became as he is, above the storm, above the waves. But then the Bible says, "But when he saw that the wind was boisterous". The wind was boisterous, it was very loud. He saw, he looked at the wind, he took his eyes off Jesus. Look at the winds and look at the storm. He took his eye off Jesus.
Let me ask you a question. What has the strong winds howling and the high waves got to do with you walking on the water? Do you mean to tell me that you can walk on the water when it's perfectly peaceful? You see how illogical our fears are? In the first place, even it's peaceful, there's no howling winds, there's no storm, perfect, not even a ripple, mirror-like, you mean you can walk? So, what has the storm got to do with it?
You see, I'm sorry to say this. When we start into unbelief, we become stupid even in terms of reasoning. This incident was not put there by the Spirit of God just for us to look at history. It's a lesson. You said Jesus is up there on the mountain, no, he can be right beside you in an instant. And what happens when your faith fails? He says, "I told you should never confess that. Now, you're on your own. You confess that, you're on your own". And sometimes, confession of faith has been taught in such a way that it's almost like, "Don't say that, don't say that. I bind that, I bind that". Cannot even a proper relationship.
Your son comes to you and say, "Mom, I'm feeling afraid". "Bind that, you're not afraid". How to talk to your husband, "I bind that, bind that, bind that, bind that, bind that". Blessed be the tie that binds marriage. Have a normal conversation, then you can go into faith, all right? It's okay, nothing wrong with that. But here's where his faith failed. He looked at all this and began to sink. He was afraid and began to sink. "He cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand".
Now, can I ask you a question? Jesus was probably some ways away, right? But the moment he took his eye off Jesus, he don't even know he was coming towards him. When you take your eyes off Jesus, all right, he never takes his eyes off you. And when you fail in your faith, does he leave you alone? "Too bad. Matthew, you are next". No, he doesn't do that. All right, this is not training, you know, we will be soldiers in this lost army.
Well, this is amazing commander. He was there, immediately he grabbed him and called him and said to him, "Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt"? You know something, Jesus on the mountain is priesthood. Jesus on the sea is providence. Jesus in the boat is presence and one day the church will have him physically back with us. On the mountain, his praying lips. On the sea, his saving hands, amen. And one day he will step back on earth right into the boat. When they got into the boat, the wind ceased - no movie can replicate that.
"Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped him saying, 'Truly You are the Son of God". "Pastor Prince, I got something to say. I'm a theologian, Pastor Prince, and you talk about oneness with Jesus, but you think that's referring to our spirit, and our soul, our inner man, not our physical body"? Well, amazing, those people got healed by accident, not based on our theological understanding, they got healed. Let me just submit that to you. Since you are theologian, you take the Scripture as your number-one authority, right? So do I.
Watch this, how do you explain this Ephesians 5, "We are members of his body"? As he is, so are we in this world, right? "But Pastors Prince, it's not referring to his body, it's referring to his position". What about this? "We are members of his body, and of His flesh and of His bones". Can the Holy Spirit make it any more clearer? Even his body right now, is there any disease in his body? Is there any degeneration in his body? Is there any aging happening right now in Jesus's body at the Father's right hand? So are you in this world.
We are members of his body, of his flesh. It's almost like the Holy Spirit anticipate there'll be arguments along these lines, we are members, not just of the mystical, you know, but the corporeal body of Christ all over the world but we are members of his body, of his flesh, of his very flesh, and of his bones. Jesus prayed this would happen, people. Jesus prayed in his high priestly prayer, you know, if you love someone, you want to be one with them. Some of you parents understand what I'm saying, mothers especially nursing a sick child, high temperature. There are times, I know you're a Christian, but there are times you wish you can carry that fever. Am I right?
I know you know that Jesus took it, but there are times you feel like taking it yourself. You rather relieve your child from that pain, right? You don't mind doing it yourself, how much more God? To love someone is to identify. And you know something? The Bible says, Isaiah 63. "In all their affliction", Israel's affliction, "he was afflicted". When Israel was in the iron furnace, the fiery furnace of Egypt, you think God was in heaven enjoying the streets of gold and just leaving them down there? No, in all their suffering, he suffered, that's love. He was with them, that's why he appeared to Moses in a burning bush because his people were in a burning furnace.
Love identifies, love wants to be one with the person that you love. Ultimately, he took our diseases and pains, not just our sins because he loves you. Himself bore. Oh man, healing is breaking out, everywhere that's watching this as well. Even in the privacy of your own home, wherever you're watching this, receive that love. That's why love identifies. When Israel went through the desert and they live, not in houses of stones, but temporary shelters, booths, how did God dwell in the 40 years of wandering wilderness? Did God dwell in heaven? God dwelt also in tents. It's called the tabernacle of Moses. God dwelt in tents, identification, hmm?
Finally, they crossed the River Jordan after 40 years. They are now in the Promised Land and now they must become warriors and the formidable cities in front of them, Jericho. And Joshua looked at Jericho and he's thinking, "Wow, that's huge, man". And more than 30 years ago, our people came down here and they could not take it. They saw these walls and then straightaway, someone appeared before Joshua. The Bible says he appeared with a drawn sword. He appeared as a military commander. Who is it? Our Lord Jesus in his pre incarnate appearance.
Notice, he appeared in the same position that the people were in. His people were turning into an army and the Lord appeared as a commander. Beautiful, beautiful. Joshua asked, "Which side are you on"? The Lord says, "I'm not here to take sides. I'm here to take over". Finally, they entered the Promised Land, land of Israel and they dwelt in houses of stones. Guess what God dwelt in. A temple made of stones. Do you love him? He wants to be where you are. And finally God said, "My Son's blood has washed you so clean inside that I can come and dwell inside you". All the Old Testament saints, Elijah, David and all that, they had the Holy Spirit on, they never had the Holy Spirit in because the blood that they were depending on, all right, was the blood of bulls and goats that cannot clean you inside.
It's only ceremoniously outwardly but the blood of Jesus will cleanse you inside out, so clean that on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came and dwelt. And Jesus says, he's with you, the Holy Spirit and he will be in you forever, forever. And now he's dwelling with us. He likes to be where we are. You see, love does that, you see? Love likes to be, you know, when you're alone and you see beautiful mountains, you're in Canada, or you're in Colorado, or you're in Switzerland, when you see all those beautiful and you're alone, you don't really enjoy it, do you? You start saying, "I wish my wife was here. I wish my children were here".
Love loves to share. So, even your pain, love loves to take your pain and give you the best experience like you want them to experience what you're experiencing right now, the beauty of this scenery. Love want to give, love wants that. That's love. Imagine, that's a drop in the ocean, a minuscule, a little infinitesimal vision of God's love for you. So much more. So, not only he wants to take all your pain, your sins being number one and all your pains, but not only that, he gives you his position. He gives you all the good things that you don't, you don't have, nor can you ever obtain on your own. So, as he is, so are we in this world. Can you understand when Jesus comes again, by the way, this truth will cause people to overcome sexual immorality, amen?
Look at 1 Corinthians 6 it tells you, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not"! Hey, your hands, your body, everything about you, you are an offshoot. You are members of Christ, literally. The day you start having a revelation of that, my goodness, I'm telling you, when you lay hands, it's not just your hands, you're a member of Christ. Respect your body, hmm? Paul didn't say, "Stop it". Paul didn't quote the law and say, "Thou shall not commit adultery". No, Paul appeals to the fact they are one with Christ. Have we done that, preachers? Have we done that, pastors? It's very easy to preach the law. "Don't do this, do that. Do this, don't do this". But to preach grace takes the Holy Spirit, takes the anointing.
That's why when he comes again, the Bible says in 1 John 3, "I do". 1 John 3, "Now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him", why? "For we shall see Him as He is". Finally, when you see Jesus as you are, bang, the final thing is your new body. But, why does it say we shall be like him? Then it says, "Because we shall see him as he is". What if you and I see more and more of him in the Scriptures, more and more of him in the preachings that we hear? We shall be like him. The only thing waiting is our bodies when he comes again.
See the way it's connected seeing him and your transformation, hmm? And that's why on the road of Emmaus, Jesus restrained their eyes from seeing him in person. He could have said, "Look, look at my wounds, I am Jesus". But he didn't do that. He covered their eyes from seeing who he was until they saw him in the Bible because that gives us all equal opportunity. The way we see Jesus is not like go outside, look at the heaven, and try to see, no. It is seeing him in the preaching of the Word, seeing him in the Bible, in the Scriptures, seeing him in your study. When you see him, you become like him. It might take some time, but you end up like him, okay? You love him?
We got no time to look at his prayer but his prayer for unity is actually John 17. You should take time to, you know, look at his prayer. Did God answer his prayer? Yes, that's why we are one. Today we are one with Jesus. I'm gonna read to you one last testimony and then we'll close. Maybe some of you have this challenge. "Pastor Prince, can I pray for somebody else this prayer"? Yes, you can. A mother prays this for her son suffering from autism and the mother says, "Growing up my son Zachary". All over the world people's lives have been changed, all over the world, not just America, China, Uganda, Kenya, Europe, France, Germany. I'll close with this.
"Growing up my son Zachary had delayed speech, was violent, would zone out for hours on end and do just one thing all day. Sometimes he was also uncooperative. Feeding time could not be delayed. If we were late by even just five minutes, he would just move on to play and they'll be no getting him back to the table for the meal. We could not communicate with him effectively and we were not sure if he understood what we were saying. At times, he would just repeat one statement the whole day. We never managed to potty train him and had to put him in a diaper when we were going out. In the end, we moved him to a school for children with special needs. He was diagnosed with echolalia. One time during a sermon by Pastor Prince, I heard this verse".
What verse is it? "As Jesus is, so are we in this world. In that sermon, Pastor Prince mentioned that when faced with any situation, be it illness or lack, all we needed to do was just to declare as our Lord is in heaven, so are we in this world. When I was unwell, all I declared was this and the illness went away so I thought I'll declare it over my son who was diagnosed with autism. I told the Lord that since he did not have autism, neither did my son and I'm glad to announce that the symptoms we first saw in him have all disappeared. He can now speak, of all the things that you're saying". He can now speak. "He can now speak, dress himself, use the potty".
Hey, Pastor Mark needed to see this. One more time. Praise God for this, amen. "He can now speak, dress himself, use the potty, and he's even doing well in school. In fact, he's now so loving and not violent there has also been less echolalia symptoms and more hugs and kisses from him. He's even now mommy's bodyguard. Zachary pays me compliments like, 'Mommy, I like your smile.' Praise God that he now speaks. His change has been so significant that the new care giver at the center", the special school, "where Zachary goes asked me why Zachary was in a school for children with special needs since he's quite different from the other children. On this account, we now plan to take him out of the school and place him in a school without specialized education. I praise God because Zachary is healed and the Lord has done it for me without the need for drugs or supplements. Indeed as the Lord is, so is Zachary in this world. Thank you, Pastor Prince, for preaching the good news. That verse suddenly empowered me in Christ".
Praise the Lord. Give him praise, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Every head bowed, every eye closed all across this place. Friend, the Holy Spirit wants you looking at Jesus. Moses endured as seeing him who is invisible and the Bible account is that Moses lived to 120 years old. His eyes was not dim nor his natural force abated. Moses kept on seeing him who is invisible. God wants your life to be a life looking at Jesus at the Father's right hand and whatever assails you, whatever you are besotted with, whatever is troubling you, number one, you need to know Jesus sees, Jesus sees. There is no storm too dark that he cannot see what you need. He sees you straining. He sees you growing. He sees you striving. He sees you in pain and he loves you, he cares for you.
If you look to him beyond the clouds like a boy who was asked when he was playing with a kite on a foggy day, he can't see his kite and a man says, "How do you know your kite has not gone away"? "Sir, I can feel the tug on the strings". Sometimes the cloud seems to cover your vision of Jesus, but you can feel his love tugging at your heart strings. Maybe this morning, you feel his love tugging at your heart strings. You know he's there, he cares. Why don't you just say, "Lord Jesus, as you are, so am I in this world. Lord Jesus, as you are free from this phobia, so am I in this world. Lord Jesus, as you are free from lack and never having enough, so am I in this world. God made you the measure for my blessings. Thank you, Lord Jesus as you are, I am in this world".
And if you can't say that because Jesus is not your Savior and Lord, then friend, you're not here by incident or coincidence. You are here by divine appointment, right place, right time. God arranged for you to be here today and God loves you. Pray this prayer with me. Put your trust in Jesus Christ and you will be saved and your family. Say this after me.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your love for me. Thank you for bringing me here or letting me watch this that I might hear the good news, the good news that Jesus died to give me. I believe that you love me. You love me and, Lord Jesus, you see me and you see what I'm going through. I put my trust in you that you bore my sins in your own body on that tree. You were judged in my place and you willingly and gladly bore my judgment to finish it at the cross. And you rose from the dead without my sins, without my sickness, without my disease. You rose without them all. You rose triumphant and as you are, so am I in this world. Lord Jesus, you are my Savior, you are my Lord. I put my trust in you. My sins are forgiven. I'm forgiven completely. I'm highly favored and I always know from now on, I'm loved, deeply loved. In Jesus's name, amen.
Stand to your feet, praise the Lord, hallelujah. Thank you, Lord Jesus. When you come to New Creation Church, always remember, okay, come prepared to hear what God has for you because God can deliver you while the Word goes forth, remember that. Try to pace yourself. I know Saturday night for some of you is a day out but ladies, try to watch maybe just one drama, one episode, all right? Pace yourself. Don't allow yourself to be robbed of what you are hearing, amen? Make Sunday your best. Make Sunday the day you pace yourself for that Sunday, for that Word because the drama, that guy won't help you. The guy become richer, but you'll still be left with your condition but if you hear the Word, the Word will set you free.
Lift your hands all across this place. This coming week, the Lord bless you with the blessings of Abraham, the blessings of revelation of his Son Jesus Christ. I pray that revelation become stronger and stronger in your heart. The Holy Spirit will teach you and take the things of Christ and reveal it to you. The Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus, amen. I pray in Jesus's name, God give you wisdom, God give you wisdom to discern when the enemy is trying to distract you. God give you wisdom and understanding when you realize that the storm is trying to call for your attention and take your eyes off Jesus. I pray the Lord protect you and your loved ones throughout this week from every danger, harm, from every infection and disease. The Lord favors you. You are in the supernatural favor of God. You are in the world but not of the world. Even a thousand fall at your side, it will not come near you because you are under God's care. His watchful eye, it covers you and you are completely blessed. In Jesus's name and all the people said, God bless you. We'll see you again. Love you guys.