Joseph Prince - Walk In Constant Victory Over Fear

Greetings, church, in this year of Jubilee. Look around you. Greet at least three or four persons around you. Tell them something good is going to happen to you this year. Something really good, amen. You will love it. This is the year, amen. Praise God. Well, we're gonna get right into the Word of God, praise God. We've got so much to share because you always can tell after you've preached the first service, you can tell how much time you need. But those of you who slept late today, praise the Lord, welcome. And I just want to say that you're in for a treat because this week, I can tell the opposition against this message. In a while's time, you can see what's going to happen, all right? Because we are going to uncover some things that will set you free, amen?

But it's not been an easy week for me, and there was some battles and challenges, but through it all, the Lord has brought me through. And later on you will know, I think it's got to do with this message here today, really. There's warfare going on, praise the Lord. Now, I just want to tell you this, that in the year of Jubilee, which is this year, we must not forget how the year of Jubilee happened in the year 1967. Now, why 1967? Let's go back to the graph again, okay, 1917, General Allenby of the British Forces entered Jerusalem. At that time, the Turkish were in control of Jerusalem, and they've been in control as the Ottoman Turks for 400 years.

And before that, there were other Gentiles, non-Jews that is, that conquered and subdued the land of Israel all the way from Nebuchadnezzar down to the Medo-Persians, and then the Gentile, the times of the Gentiles began in the prophesy and the vision of Daniel. Then we have Alexander the Great of the Grecian Empire. Then we have, after that, the revived Roman Empire, the times that we are living in, okay? Sorry, the Romans. After the Greece was Romans, then the revived Roman Empire. But Jesus came during a time of the Romans. And then Jesus said that Jerusalem will be under the foot of non-Jews, Gentiles, okay? Until, there's an until, the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And something happened. After 2,000 years of Israel, the people of Israel were scattered to the four corners of the earth.

In AD 70, General Titus marched into Jerusalem, burned down the temple, murdered, literally killed so many Jews, and took the rest of them captive with him. And the times of the Gentiles was at that time being fulfilled, even from Nebuchadnezzar all the way to Romans. God meant to rule the earth through Israel, but when Israel sinned against God, and especially the sin of idolatry. You see, as long as they have other sins, you know, we're not sanctioning any sin, I'm just saying that even though they were sinning, they still offered the sacrifices every day. And the blood of the sacrifice atoned or covered their sins. And on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, it will cover their sins for another year. It never really took away their sins. That came when Jesus came as the final Lamb of God, who took away, amen, the sins, the sin of the world.

And all our sins today have been remitted by the blood of Jesus. It's not covered over, it's remitted. It is blotted out of sight, amen. But Israel at the time under the Romans, Jesus prophesied when he was here because they rejected him, he says that, "How I wish I would have gathered you as a mother hen would gather her chicks, but you would not, and now you are left on your own". And Jesus says that all the Romans, obviously these were Romans, "The soldiers will surround you, and they will kill you, and they will not show you mercy". And that literally happened in AD 70, all right? So, from AD 70, 2,000 years, then you have the Mamelukes, you have all the rest, plus the Ottoman Turks.

In 1917, General Allenby, who believed in Bible prophecy, he marched into Jerusalem because he felt he was not worthy to ride the horse that he was on. So, he got off his horse, he said, "My Lord entered Jerusalem on a donkey. How can I ride a horse"? So, he got off the horse, he walked in. And without firing one shot, all right, the Turkish army left. So, the call was made for all the Jews to return to their homeland after 2,000 years, but you all know the story. The call was not really heeded. There were many who were wealthy in Europe and all that. Imagine if that was heeded, there will be no Holocaust, all right? So, that's 1917. And he entered Jerusalem, just to let you know that it marked the 11th hour. Jesus talked about the 11th hour in his parable of the vineyard, the Lord of the vineyard and the people that he hired.

So, in that parable, Jesus mentioned the 11th hour. The 11th hour generation, you and I, are the most blessed and privileged generation compared to all the generations. And why I say 11th hour, look at this. He entered, Allenby enters Jerusalem in 1917. World War II... sorry, World War I was ended, it ended with the Armistice signing on 11 November, exactly 11 months after Allenby entered Jerusalem, exactly 11 months from that time on, on November, which is the 11th month, on the 11th day of November, at 11 o'clock. Now, they didn't plan for this, okay? It was signed. The Armistice was signed ending World War I. It was as if God was saying the whole world is entering the 11th hour, amen? So, and Jubilee happens every 50 years. So, the call was made for the Jews to return. They didn't return, all right? And God made another call, 50 years from 1917, you have 1967.

What happened in '67? We all know it's Six-Day War in Israel. Israel was besieged by her enemies, surrounded on all sides, the north was Syrians, and the south were the Egyptians, in the east were the Jordanians, and literally on the west, of course, is the Mediterranean Sea. They were surrounded all around, and yet they were outmanned, outgunned, outnumbered, yet in 6 days they got more land. And not only that, they got back Jerusalem. Now, I should mention that it's not that...Allenby actually give them a chance, but even then, the part of the Bible, part of Jerusalem where Jesus died, and where the Temple Mount is, and all that was in the hands of the Jordanians.

So, there was a no man's strip of land. There are no man's land, a strip of land called no man's land, and the Jews just, those who returned, they just dwelled on this, the west side of Jerusalem. But this time, after the Six-Day War, all Jerusalem came under the hands and the control of the Jews. This is fulfilling Bible prophecy after 2,000 years. Jesus says Jerusalem will be trodden under the foot of Gentiles until, okay? So, that is 1967, amen? And there's no parallel in military history except for Joshua and the walls of Jericho. On the seventh day, Jericho was theirs. So, God was repeating history, amen? Now, if you number 50 years from 1967, what do you have? Hello, welcome to 2017, so this is the year of Jubilee.

"What's going to happen, Pastor Prince"? Well, lots of good things, but this is the thing I want to impress on you. The year, when we look back at 1967, you ask the Israelis, for example, what happened? What was the major thing that happened in '67? They said, "Oh, we got Jerusalem". You know, "We won the Six-Day War". But actually, we all think about the good blessings and all the good stuff and all that, but it began, the year of Jubilee began for them by being surrounded by their enemies.

Do you feel the same way today? Do you feel as if you started this year surrounded by difficulties, problems, challenges? Maybe it started towards the end of last year, and you hear Pastor Prince saying year of Jubilee, but there's no freedom for me. You know, I'm having one problem after another. Well, that's how the year began in 1967, but what glorious victory. The victory you're going to receive will so overwhelm all the difficulties that you are now faced with, amen. Praise the Lord, so it shall be. Sit back, relax, watch.

Amen. Jubilee means freedom. Leviticus 25, "Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land". So, literally, every year Israel will observe the Yom Kippur Day, all right? Even today that's the most solemn day for them in their calendar. Even today, they observe it. But remember this, every 50th Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement, when the sin offering has been offered, the trumpet of Jubilee will sound. In other words, freedom is predicated or based on the blood of the sin offering, amen? Because of what Jesus has done, we are free. And that's why, when I saw this, I saw the clouds and I saw the hands being bound and all that, and that's why Jesus when he expired, the sound of the trumpet would echo throughout the entire city of Jerusalem from the temple.

Exactly at 3 o'clock when he died, at the temple, they would offer the sacrifice, okay? At a precise moment at 3 p.m., as they offered the sacrifice, the priest would blow the trumpet. But on the 50th year, amen, they would proclaim right after the offering, they would proclaim Jubilee. And Jubilee means every debt cancelled. The land reverts back to its original owners, amen? Every slave is set free, amen. Now, in a deeper sense, all right, because Jubilee, like every other feast of Israel, is they are just visual aids, dress rehearsals if you would. But they're just visual aids for us to learn the truth that God has for us. Jesus said in Isaiah 61, as well as Luke 4 where he quoted from Isaiah 61, the Lord said in Luke 4 when he came to his own town, "The Spirit of God is on me to heal the broken heart, to set the captives free, the opening of prison doors to those who are bound, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord".

Now, the acceptable year of the Lord in the Greek is dektos, in the Hebrew it's ratzon in Isaiah 61. It means the year that the free favors of God profusely abound, amen. So, expect that to happen. Don't expect your troubles to abound, amen? Amen, there'll be troubles, there'll be difficulties, amen. God never promised us exemption from that, but it's a year where the free favors of God profusely abound. Can I have a good amen? All right, so keep this is mind, people, that the year may begin with a lot of troubles, but be expecting the free favors of God on your life, amen? And that's a wonderful testimony because when people saw what happened to Israel, outnumbered, all right, and outgunned and all that, and yet in 6 days, they won the war. It's unprecedented that so much so that the militaries of the world, the generals and all that make a study of this 6-day, how Israel conquered, but they forgot the God factor. It is not so much Israel, it is the God of Israel. Can I have a good amen? Praise God.

Now, I want to show you something about Jubilee that I think is going to help you. The first area of freedom, by the way, if you read the rest of chapter 25 in Leviticus and you go to the next two chapters, 27, chapter 27, you will find God talking about, telling the people about the year of Jubilee. When you buy property, when you buy houses, or you buy lands and all that, you will pay in proportion to the amount to the year of Jubilee. In other words, if you buy like 40 years before Jubilee, of course it's more expensive, all right? But if you buy like 10 years from here to Jubilee's time, it's going to be what? Less expensive, of course, right? Because it will go back to its original owner. So, what is the meaning for us? The meaning is very simple. As we see the Lord Jesus coming back for us, the Rapture will happen very soon, all right?

People used to say, "Well, you know, people have been saying that all the time". But no, you see, no generation has seen Israel come back as a nation. No other generation has seen Jerusalem after 2,000 years reverting back to its original owners. We are that generation, amen. Those of you who are born in your '60s, you're born in your '50s, you are born in your '70s, you are the generation, amen. And Jesus said that this generation will not pass away, that all these things be fulfilled. "But Pastor Prince, no one knows the day of the Rapture". All right, you're right. The Bible says the day nor the hour no man knoweth. And if anyone tells you they know the day nor the hour, they are teaching error, amen. However, the Bible does say, although we do not know the day nor the hour, of the times and the seasons, brethren, I will not have you ignorant.

So, the season. I'm telling you we are in the season before the world gets worse and worse, before the book of Revelation and all the judgments and all that come to pass. There might be a nuclear war even because the Bible says one-third of the earth population will be killed in the book of Revelation. Before all that happens in the 7 years, the Bible says there'll be a Rapture. All right, the Greek word is harpazo, which means a snatching away of his bride, a snatching away of the church, amen. Jesus is our husband, amen? Our bridegroom, we are his bride. In the old customs of the Middle East, they are... by the way, they still practice that in some places in the Middle East, but it used to be a culture, even the Israelis in Old Testament times when they betrothed a bride, the bride does not know exactly the day the bridegroom will come and bring her back to his home.

In other words, he's preparing his house, he's building his house for the bride, he's preparing the fields and all that to be a husband worthy of her, but she doesn't know the day, all right? But the day will come, the father will tell him, "Go get your bride". And the bride must always be ready. She does not know the day, but she knows the season. At least she must know the season to dress up, isn't it? All right, he's probably coming this month, you know? So, I'm telling you the season. The Bible says that so much the more as we shall assemble ourselves together, so much the more as you see the day approaching. And church, I'm seeing the day approaching.

The Rapture is not the Second Coming of Christ. The Second Coming of Christ is when Christ returns and the revived Roman Empire is here, all right? Probably in Europe, most likely in Europe because Europe was where the Romans were predominantly, all right? But in the revived Roman Empire, there will come a leader who's called the Antichrist, all right? He's godless, he's evil, and the Lord will destroy him. And he will establish millennium on, like paradise millennia, amen. A millennial kingdom on earth, where the wolf and the lamb will sit together, nothing will destroy, amen. We are looking forward for that. But we're not going through the Tribulation. If you believe in going through Tribulation, help yourself, amen? But for me, amen, I see in the Scriptures that we'll being raptured out of it. Can I have a good amen?

The bridegroom is coming for his bride. He's going to snatch his bride out of this whole mess before it gets worse. And actually, the Rapture is nothing more than the believers receiving the final, the final possession that Jesus died to give us. And what is that? A new body. You see, we're not going to heaven floating like a spirit. No, we have a body like Jesus's body when he rose from the dead. It is a body that can go through walls, yet he told them, "Touch me". It's matter, amen? A ghost, he says, Jesus said this, "A ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see me have". He said that after he rose from the dead.

So, our bodies, the Bible says, will be like his body, except it's glorified. In other words, it's not subject to decay, not subject to disease, and it will never, never, never grow old. We'll be forever young, amen, forever healthy. And you cannot feel bored in that new...a new body, amen. You will never fall asleep when Jesus is preaching in heaven. Praise the Lord, hallelujah. Wake your neighbor and say, "He just made a good point". Amen, praise the Lord. So, we're going to have a brand new body. That's what the Rapture is all about, folks. It's the final possession of the final part of the inheritance, amen. Until then, people are struggling with sickness, and aging, and that kind of thing. While we believe God for healing, amen, we are looking for the final purchased possession, our new bodies. Can I have a good amen?

And we will travel at the speed of light, hallelujah. So fast, amen. We have chariots of fire and we can never die. How fast will you go when you know you cannot die, ever? Death is under out feet, amen. Death has been conquered by Jesus, so praise God. But I want to tell you something. The very first area that God wants freedom, your freedom to manifest is this that he asked me to preach here today. I laugh to myself in and of my knowledge, okay, my own head. I'll be probably preaching on something else. But the Lord had me preach on this. And this, like this message today caused me some warfare that I think you'll understand why in a while's time. This is the very first area God wants to announce Jubilee to you, all right?

Hebrews 2, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage". Now, we think, many a times we think that people have all kinds of fears, nothing to do with fear of death, yeah? Fear of death is... right? It's not that people fear death, you know? It's like people have all kinds of fears, not just fear of death. But actually, the fear of death is the mother of all fears, amen.

You see, it's not that people have a fear of flying, they have a fear of dying. They are afraid the plane might crash. If the doctors say that we might have to operate on you, they say, "Oh, no, no, ever since I was young, I'm afraid of operation". It's not that they are afraid of operation, they are afraid of death. A lot of fears, all right, we trace back to this fear of death. And the Bible says when you have a fear of death, you are all your lifetime subject to bondage. The very first area that God wants to sound the trumpet of Jubilee in your life is freedom from the fear of death. Can I have a good amen?

When you are free from the fear of death, you are free from that very thing that will cause you to be in bondage all your lifetime. So, when I answer this question, number one, all right, why is it that this fear of death causes people to be subject to bondage? We want to answer the question, who has this power of death? How come the Bible says that Jesus destroyed the devil who had the power of death? Why is it that the devil has the power of death? Where did he get this power from? How did Jesus destroy the devil? Because the devil is still around. In what way did Jesus destroy him? Okay, we first and foremost I want to answer the question, and who is this benefit for? Who did he release? Well, we answer that one first, okay, the last one. Verse 16, "For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham".

Now, who is the seed of Abraham? If you are Christ's, you belong to Christ, then are you Abraham's seed, amen? Abraham's seed are those who believe in Christ, are those who believe in God, amen, those who believe that he sent his Son to die for our sins. Now, obviously, the seed of Abraham also refers to the people of God, the Old Testament saints. Now, these are the ones who had fear of death. I'll tell you why. It's not referring to the world. The world, of course, many of them have fear of death. Some of them try to suppress the fear of death. Some of them don't want to talk about the fear of death. Some of them attend and they still do attend funerals grudgingly. They will tell you that they don't like it, but they'll be there. But the thing is that people try to cloud, you know, their vision of the impending end. Why? Because death for them is full of terrors, full of the unknown, strange conditions, strange environment.

There are a lot of terrors and fears that they don't want to face, all right? Some people just conveniently say, "Well, there's nothing. You just die, you just die. You know"? But deep down in their conscience there's something they're telling them, that there's life after this life. If you want to read more on life after life and how life goes on after that, a very interesting book that I recommend is by a doctor, a medical doctor, and his name is Dr. Maurice Rawlings. It's called, "Beyond Death's Door," a very interesting book. Okay? Dr. Maurice Rawlings was actually an ICU or ER, emergency unit, you know, doctor.

In other words, the first case, usually, quite brutal cases and, you know, cases of violence and all that, and people at the end of their breath, you know, comes to that ER unit. And he's the doctor that... so, he brought a lot of people back to life. He brought them back to life, and he was a non-Christian. He wasn't a believer, okay, but he himself testifies, and you read about it in the book, how that he brought back many unbelievers, they begged him not to let them go back there. All right, for him it's just wher, all right? But when he brings back a believer, somehow a believer would complain, "Why did you bring me back"? 'Cause they saw heaven.

So, instinctively, deep down, people know there's a life after life, but they're afraid of death. So, this fear of death, now, this fear of death in the context here refers to God's people in the Old Testament. Now, nothing is more terrifying than for you to know there's life... and only God's people are enlightened people. God's people know God. They know enough. But these Old Testament saints, though they're enlightened, they don't have the knowledge of accomplished redemption. They don't have the knowledge like you and I have, that Jesus has finished the work. The sin debt issue has been settled, amen. There's nothing between us and God. We are reconciled. They don't have this knowledge. Yet, their spirits are enlightened. So, when they are enlightened, they know that God is real, and they know that they are faced with death. They fear, and this fear cause them to be in bondage, all right?

Now, although it refers primarily to the Old Testament saints having the fear of death, but likewise we look at our lives, even believers, when they don't really establish in the Word of God, there's a fear of death. They live their life in fear, fear of the unknown, all right? Now, as a believer you should not be afraid of death. Actually, death doesn't exist for us anymore. "But, Pastor Prince, just the other day, I intended a Christian funeral". But the Bible calls it falling asleep. Death has been conquered by Jesus. He rose from the dead bodily. And the scriptural attitude for the Christian is to look forward to the rapture, not to death. In fact, when you look forward for death, when you say things like everyone dies, all right, you're not quoting scripturally. The Bible says we are to look forward for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, not for the grave, amen?

Should he tarry, the grave might be the place, all right, but for the believer he just falls asleep, and he wakes up. It's like he stepped out of his body, and he's never more alive and more free than when his heart stopped beating, amen. So, the Bible calls it falling asleep in Christ, amen? The sting of death has been removed when Jesus conquered death. And for this generation, most likely, you won't have the privilege of knowing what death is like. Sorry. Amen? You are the terminal generation, the end-time generation, the 11th-hour generation. Now, we are caught, people. Look at this. Jesus came that through death, in other words, the Son of God became the Son of Man, that he might have a body. Why have a body? That he might die. And that's one thing that people don't realize. They think that Jesus was murdered. He didn't want to die. People killed him. Nonsense. He came to die. He existed with the Father. He's one with the Father. Amen.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, triune God, not three Gods, one God. But the Father sent his Son, long before he came as a baby boy in Bethlehem, he existed with the Father. It's like the king of glory laid aside his robe and stepped into the virgin's womb, amen? From eternity, he stepped into time. Amen. The one who upheld, the Bible says, all things in the universe are upheld by the word of his power. In Christ, all things consist, are held together, the one who holds everything together is now a baby, a helpless baby, held by his mother's arms., amen. God stepped into time and took on human flesh and became a real man with real emotions, real feelings, real sentiments. For what purpose? That he might die. As God, you cannot die. As man, you can die. But why, why die?

Well, today, we are focusing on this aspect of his death, "that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil". But how in the world did the devil have the power of death? And how did it come about that Jesus, through death, destroyed him? I'm going to solve this question, but first and foremost just announce to you, ladies and gentlemen, we are caught in the battle of the ages. Man was created much later. So are all the, you know, the things, the governments of men that followed and all that. All that came after, but long, long before men exist, God created angels with governments, with hierarchy. The Bible talks about we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places. Amen?

There are evil spirits, there are low level evil spirits and all the way to Satan himself. But the thing is that in the beginning there are no evil spirits. God didn't create a devil. God created angels, and even angels have hierarchies, and the top angels are called, in the Hebrew, keruv. We call it cherub, amen? In the plural, it is keruvim, cherubim, we call it. Unfortunately, I think it's the devil's trick, all right, he makes people think cherub is a babe, a cute baby in diapers holding a bow and an arrow. Amen? Stupid Cupid. Don't shoot me. It shoot you, you're in love. All right? That's how the devil tries, but, actually, nothing could be further from the truth. The keruv or the keruvim, they are the highest angels, and I believe there are three of them. I'll come to that in a while's time. But let me just show you something, okay? Originally, Satan is not Satan. He was Lucifer, amen?

Look there to Isaiah 14. God says, "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning". That's what his name means. "How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations"! I want to announce to you, when the tsunami hit and the nations were weakened, not only lives were lost and destruction and such carnage. But loss of money, as well. Those who, the weakened the nation is not God. God doesn't send tsunamis. God doesn't send earthquakes. God does not destroy. God considers death as an enemy. When God designed for man to live on earth, God never planned for man to die. God never planned for man to have disease in his body. God never even planned for man to grow old. Then why we see all these things? The wages of sin is death. Many of you like wages, right, salary, but you don't like this one. The wages of sin is death. Amen. Sickness is but death begun.

All right, growing old and all that. So, you must understand God's heart. God is a good God, and nothing but only good. There is a devil. How did he become the devil? Well, originally, he was Lucifer. One of the keruv, one of the cherub, okay, the highest of all the angels, and I believe there are two more. I'll tell you why in a while's time, all right. "How you are cut down to the ground". By the way, you know, insurance companies and all, they say that: not responsible for the acts of God; earthquakes, you know, tsunami and all that. Those are not acts of God. Okay? Amen. You know, sometimes I think to myself, when I watch NatGeo and History Channel, and there's such an abundance of documentaries on UFOs. Have you noticed that? Have you noticed that? There's a bunch of, you know, documentaries on these kind of, people would rather believe in UFOs than in God Almighty, who created the heavens and the earth. You know? And they try to explain it in a remarkable fashion and, you know, like scientifically.

And by the way, there's no such thing as God and science, God versus science. That's what the devil wants you to think. But many, many, many great scientists, plus the one who created the rocket, Von Braun, his name, they're all strong believers. They believe in God. It's not a matter of God versus science. No, many, it's God versus heathen science, amen, all right, experimenting science or God versus those ungodly science. But there's a godly science. There's science that's based on facts, as well, amen. There's an argument that's based on facts. Like people say, well, we all evolved from the monkeys who came from another species, and finally it traced down to the microorganism, all right? The question, how did that microorganism come about? What gave it life? "Oh, no, no, it's the source".

How can it be the source when it's not able to make itself come about? Amen. What created that thing? And how come from a low level it goes to a higher level? From what I know, you give me hot coffee right now, I put it on the table down there, leave it for a while, hot coffee never become hotter. You wish it was, right? It become cold. Everything degenerates, everything breaks down. Why is it that you grow older and older? Why is it that everything sort of like, speaking in the natural, okay? You don't have to receive it, but why is it that everything sort of decay? Things just, left alone, things crumble. Things go down, never from a lower level to a higher level. It's always from a higher level to a lower level. Hmm? Come on. So, it's a matter of whether you want to believe in God. In the beginning God created the heaven and earth. "I believe it happened with a big bang". Who gave the big bang? I believe in God says, "Light be," there was a bang, and it was big. I believe that.

So, I'm going beyond that, folks, and you don't have to worry about all these things, and science is still a moving and evolving science. Okay? It's not established, let me tell you this. When all, I think it was Von Braun, the rocket scientist, literally a rocket scientist, I think it was him who said that after all the conclusions of good science, at the end of it, you'll find that God is there already. The Scriptures are there already amen? Every time the spade goes into the soil in Israel, they never uncover things that contradict the Bible. They always uncover things that confirm the Bible. So, science and all that, God doesn't need all this confirmation. Amen. But it's nice to have this confirmation. But woe be to you if you build your life on things that are still evolving. Even science change their minds. Amen. We don't deal with conjectures. Our life is too precious to build on conjectures. It must be built on certainties.

So, back to this. We are caught in the battle of the ages, amen. So, what happened is that Lucifer fell, and God says, and this is what happened. God says, "You have said in your heart, 'I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.'" Stars of God are the angels an expression of angels. He really thought that he would be greater than all the angels. And then he was put above the angels, all right, but he went beyond and said, "I'll be like God". He says, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I'll be like the Most High". He wanted to usurp God's throne. Then God says, "You shall be, yet, you shall be brought down to Sheol," that's hell, "to the lowest depths of the pit".

Now, in Ezekiel 28, we have another depiction of the devil. Ezekiel 28 opens up with the prince of Tyre, not the king, the prince of Tyre. The prophet is sent to address the prince of Tyre. Tyre, by the way, Tyre used to be where now is Lebanon. Okay, there used to be an island called Tyre and the port on land called Tyre. And Alexander the Great came and conquered, it used to be the New York of that day in the world, large city. And Alexander came down there, and they boasted against the Greeks that said, "You will never conquer us". It's an island. They can shoot arrows. They can stop people from coming in. But Alexander built a ramp from the port all the way down. He built it slowly, and finally his soldiers were able to come in, and he conquered Tyre. But the prophet was sent to speak to the prince of Tyre, the ruler of Tyre. But halfway in the chapter, instead of talking to the prince of Tyre, he talks to the king of Tyre.

Now, who is the king? The king is a spirit being behind the evil force, the evil being, not force. This is not Star Wars, okay? This is a personality. The evil force is called king of Tyre. Look at who this personality is. God is talking to the devil himself. God says, "You were the anointed cherub who covers". Now think of that phrase, because I'm going back to that phrase, "the anointed cherub who covers". All this has got to do with how come he has the power of death? What does it mean to have this power of death? What does it mean that Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death? How is it that Jesus released those who, through fear of death, how am I released? Do I know that release? Can I walk out from this place today with that release? Today is your day of jubilee. Amen? So watch this. He was the anointed cherub who covers. Again, don't think of a chubby baby. All right? It is the highest angel.

Now, that should remind you of something already, the anointed cherub who covers, who covers. What does that mean? Do you remember Exodus 25, when God gave instructions on the building of the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant? In the ark, God says what? In verse 20, "And the cherubim", cherub is singular, cherubim is plural in Hebrew, "shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another. The faces of cherubim shall be towards the mercy seat". So, look at the picture of the Ark of the Covenant, where the cherubim, can you see that? All right, that is cherubim. One cherub, two cherubim, okay, plural.

Now, I believe there were three in the beginning. God himself is triune. He does things in threes. Time is in three dimensions. Past, present, future. There's no more. Okay? God introduced himself as he was, he is, he is to come. That's the name Yahweh. It's made of the three Hebrew words, which means, I am, I was, I will be. Amen? You, as a man, you are tripartite. You have a... some people think there are only bodies going around, so they live by their lust of the flesh like an animal. But are more than a body God breathed into you. You have a body, you have a soul. The mind, soul, nefesh in Hebrew. And you have a spirit, ruach, in Hebrew. You have a spirit. That spirit part of you came from God. So, you have a spirit that contacts God. But now, for many people, it's dead. It's cut off from God. You have a soul, a mind, emotions, and then you have a body, the house you live in. Tripartite. Angels, cherubim, the highest form, there is Michael and there is Gabriel.

Now, do you remember, and there's Lucifer. But by now, he's fallen, isn't it? Let me just tell you this. When Jesus rose from the dead, do you remember, Mary Magdalene, she looked into the empty tomb. By the way, the empty tomb is still there for you to look in. I believe that's the genuine in the Garden Tomb. She looked down into the empty tomb, and she saw the place where the body of our Lord had lain. He rose from the dead. And what did she see there? At the head and the feet, where the head and the feet should have been, all right, the empty tomb, she saw two angels. Remember that? She saw the real Ark of the Covenant.

And I think that an occasion as glorious as this resurrection cannot just be two angels, any angel. It must be the highest angels. It must be Michael and Gabriel. An Arab guy, an Egyptian general was sitting by a Christian many years after the war, the Yom Kippur war, and he says that... and they said, "You guys were doing great. You were entering Galilee". The Egyptians, all right. The Syrians were entering Galilee. Sorry, he was a Syrian commander, not Egyptian. Egypt coming from the south. And as he came to Galilee, they asked him, "Why did you stop"? He was the commander of a tank, and they attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. I mean, nobody attacks on the people's feast day, but anyway it's another, they attacked, and the soldiers weren't ready and all that.

So, the enemies make inroads. This was 1973. "Why did you stop"? They asked him. And he said this. "Would you believe it if I tell you"? He said, "I stopped because I look up in the clouds, and a hand came out. A hand said stop. So, I stop. We dare not move". There are counts and accounts of stories where four, five, in one section of Israelis was surrounded by hundreds of Syrians, soldiers. And yet they were fighting, and they were running out of bullets. They were surrounded on the hilltop. All of a sudden, they saw the Syrian soldiers pointing, pointing, pointing, and they all ran. Later on, after the war was over, one of them that was captured, actually, all right, and after the war, so the rest confirmed from the soldiers, the Syrian Soldiers, they said that they ran because the saw heavenly beings.

And time and time again, there's so many stories like this. The recent, what do you call that? The missiles that came into Israel, there's one video, where it came in, and it's supposed to hit Tel Aviv city, but you can see it in midair, it's turned, all right, it's turned like some being intercepted it, and turned and went right into the sea. The one who was controlling the antimissile, the commander, he's an unbeliever, unbelieving Jew. He's not religious. But that week, he went to his synagogue, all right? Many of them claim they saw an angel intercept. Now, I'm here to tell you, people, angels are real. God says he will send his angels to keep charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. All right?

So, I believe there was Lucifer. There was Gabriel. There was Michael. The three cherub, the top, okay? Like, God works in threes. But Lucifer had this come to his heart. He says, "I will ascend and be like the Most High". Now, Ezekiel 28. Show them Ezekiel 28. God says, "You were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you". Now, cherub who covers. Again, cover what? Cover the mercy seat. In other words, they were actually, they were guardians of God's holiness. They were like guardians of God's righteousness. Now, I've heard it said, and I'm sure that you have heard it said that God created Lucifer as the worship leader. Our idea of worship leading comes from church. You know, there must be a worship leader. Actually, all angels worship God, plus Lucifer, and also there are verses that says that when he was created, he was glorious like all the other angels.

In fact, God made him, and God decked him with precious stones and also within him, I don't know how to explain this, but it's very glorious. Within him is instruments of pipes and timbrels. So, from there, some Bible scholars, they conclude that he was a worship angel, but the fact of the matter is that although they worship God, and they have instruments built in them, the Bible says he's the anointed cherub who covers. And from Exodus we see it's a cherub who covers the mercy seat. And the mercy seat, the Ark of the Covenant was a visual for a visual type to Israel of God's portable throne.

David says in more than one Psalm, "God, who dwells between the cherubim, God who reigns between the cherubim". He's talking about Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant is known as the throne of the Lord of hosts. So, it's a picture of the real throne in heaven, and God made cherubim. God made these archangels or cherubim. God made them as like representation of his righteousness, a representation of his holiness. You understand? They are guardians of God's throne. Amen. From this verse, "the anointed cherub who covers". Then God says, "I established you on the holy mountain of God. You walk back and forth in the midst of fiery stones".

Now here we come to the devil's function. If I ask you a question, and I tell you this, if I tell you, "Show me the work of the devil", you'll probably bring me to Geylang. Geylang is a city, like a red light district of Singapore, for those who are watching, my international friends. And you probably say, look at that poor prostitute down there waiting at the corner over there. And this, look at that guy, you know, he's on drugs. Obviously, you can tell by his expression and all that. And you say, this is the work of the devil. This is what the devil has done with these people. And you're not wrong, you're not wrong. But we think of that as the work of the devil, you know. Gangs and triads and all that. But, actually, those are the works of the lower minions.

And I don't mean a yellow minion. But if I'd show you someone who is socially acceptable, morally, he believes in morality, he's in good standing, amen, he even preaches behind a pulpit, but you never hear the name Jesus. You never hear the blood of Jesus being talked about. All you hear is man and the deification of men. Men can be like God. Men can self-actualize. Now, if I asked you, within these two groups, which is the work of the devil, most people would point to the first one. But I tell you this, the second one is exactly what the devil, Lucifer is doing. He's called to cover the mercy seat. Even though he's fallen today, he still will not accept his deposition. He will not accept the fact he's fallen. And in a very crazy way, he still wants to usurp God's throne.

I used to think that there's no way he can usurp throne, but actually if you look carefully, I'll come in the world's time to show you how he thinks it's possible, but his sole objective, by his nature he was built, don't forget he was created. God is not created. He is created. That's why God is God. But he was created with a gift and the anointing. The anointed cherub with the anointing and the gifts to defend God's holiness and righteousness. Now in a perverted way, today, he still does that. He will come to you and say, "Do you know you have broken God's law? Do you know that you are now a sinner in God's eyes? Do you know you can expect nothing but judgment coming your way"?

Do you know something? You have jubilee, forget it for you. You know what happened that day? The rooster is coming home to roost. Nothing to do with the year of the rooster. The rooster is coming home to roost. He, he presents himself. And the Bible says no marvel, even Satan is transformed into an angel of light, and his ministers, ministers of righteousness, not faith righteousness, whose end is according to their works. He glorifies morality. He glorifies human works, human doings. But you don't hear the name Jesus. You don't hear the Savior. We need a Savior. We can't save ourself. You won't hear all that. And it can come from the pulpit. But there's what? The coup de grâce, the master accomplishment of Lucifer, who became Satan, is that people don't see that, and it's based on pride.

"I'll be like the Most High. I will ascend. I will lift my throne above". It's pride. And today you see pride in the lives of people, not knowing that Jesus, when he came, he didn't go the way of the devil. The Bible says he became a man, stepped down. There are seven steps down. And being a man, he took the form of a servant, being found as a servant. Amen? He served and died. And what sort of death? The worst death. The death of the cross. Seven steps down. And look at what the Father did for him, seven steps up wherefore God also has highly exalted him and given him a name, a name which is above every name. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. Let me just tell you this. You humble yourself, God will exalt you. But where the devil is a sure way to being debased. Amen. Are you listening?

So somewhere along the way, he was in charge of a certain part of angels. And the Bible said, I don't have time, so I'll just tell you right now, Ezekiel 28 says that by the multitude of they trafficking, now, we think of trafficking as a business; but, obviously, the devil was built with precious stones. He doesn't need to traffic in wealth the way we think of wealth, although that spirit is still energizing people today. But what was he trafficking? The word "traffic" there is the word from the Hebrews root word "slander". He slandered God to get the angels to follow him. Amen. And he succeeded with one-third of the angels. Thank God, two-thirds are with us. And these angels became demons. Some of them specialize in sickness. You know, you feel like an angel is like a spirit. The Bible calls them ruach, like a spirit. We say that, "Oh, this pain right now has jumped to the other part of my body". So, they are followed. Are you listening, people?

All right. He slandered God, just like Absalom, David's son. Handsome, the Bible says he's handsome above every Israeli. Head and shoulders above all of them. His hair was so beautiful. The Bible said Absalom, from the head to the soles of his feet, there's not one flaw. Wow. And yet, he went against his father to become king. He stood at the gate. And when people came to see King David, David was busy, he would say that, "Oh, your matters, your problems are very serious. You should have someone look into it, but the king is too busy. Oh, I wish I was like a judge". And the Bible says he stole the hearts of the people. What spirit was animating Absalom? By the way, he died young, huh? What spirit was energizing him? Lucifer. Are you listening, people? Okay?

So, the way the devil presents himself is that he still believes he's the custodian of God's holiness. God says, "You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You walked back and forth". Now, this Hebrew of he was going back and forth enforcing God's holiness, enforcing God's righteousness, making sure that no other angel was coming short. He became proud. But don't forget, that was his original purpose, the anointed cherub that covers. Are you listening, people?

Watch this. In Job, the oldest book of the Bible is Job. I used to think that, you know, that some people would think that way, that when you want to look for a job, you go to the book of Job. But it's the name of a person, all right? Job. And Job was the oldest book of the Bible, okay? In chapter 1 of Job, the angels present themselves to God. And guess who came? Satan. Now he's called Satan. Ha Satan means adversary. Okay? And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come"? So, Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it". Right? That's... saw, right? Walking back and forth. Now, then God says, "Have you considered my servant Job"?

Now look up here. Do you know what God is asking him? "Where do you come from"? When God asks a question, God always knows the answer. But it's for the benefit of the one he's asking. Now, you know what the devil said? "By walking to and fro, up and down the earth". Do you know what he's saying? "I'm doing what I'm always doing. I'm a guardian of your righteousness. I'm checking the earth to see who is unrighteous and who is not, so that I can enforce the death sentence you pronounced in the garden of Eden, when you said to man, 'The day you eat from the tree, dying, you shall die.'" That's in the Hebrew. He didn't die immediately. "Dying, you shall die". That's what God said to Adam in the garden. And the devil says, "I'm just doing what I'm doing. You created me for this purpose. I'm a guardian of your righteousness, your holiness".

So, he refused to accept his fall. He refused to accept his deposition. He still believes that he's a guardian of God's holiness; however, his heart is that "One day I'll take your throne". You understand? And that's the reason why God answered him the way God says, "Have you considered my servant Job"? And God knew that his eyes was on Job already. Because don't forget Job started feeling what? "I was eyes to the blind. I helped the poor. I clothed the needy". And Job went talking about all the things that he has done, until finally God spoke to Job in such a way that Job was stripped of all righteousness. And Job says, "I heard you by my ear, but now I see you with my eyes. I repent", I've got a whole message on Job, which is another message altogether, if you're looking for a job. All right? But this is not my message today. Okay, watch this. But you need to understand that the devil still believes he's a guardian of God's holiness, yet his motive is still to become like God. All right, to take God's throne. Are you with me so far?

Now, there's one thing that happened when he was cast down. God says, go back to Ezekiel 28, "You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created". Don't forget, he's created! He cannot be at every place. I know some of you complain yourself, saying, "Oh, Satan came after me last week. Oh, Satan came after me yesterday". Or "Satan did this". Satan is not everywhere. Okay? I'm just saying that he has one-third of his angels with him, but Satan was perfect until what? Iniquity, there was an "until". "Iniquity or sin was found in you". And what's the sin? The sin of "I'll take God's throne. I'll be God". Hm? Are you listening?

So watch this now. This is the battle of the ages. After that, he was cast out of heaven. Do you know where he came to? Earth. All right? And there's a reason for it. Like, the Bible says God told man, when God made man, the first man, Adam, God says, "Replenish the earth". If I have a glass, and I tell you replenish, that means there was water there. Or else I would just say plenish. I don't say replenish. Replenish means what? God told Adam, "Replenish the earth". "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth". Verse 2 says, "And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters, and the earth was without form and void".

God doesn't make anything void. Something happened. There was a previous flood before Noah's flood. And it seems like the devil operated from this place called earth. Smack dab in the middle of where he operated from, God created man. And maybe the reason why he created man, part of man, the body comes from the dust, is to keep man always humble. The Bible says God made man a little lower than the angels. I know people say, "The word 'angels' there is elohim, Pastor Prince, which means God made man a little lower than God".

Now, let me just tell you this. Elohim almost always refer to God, but in a few places it refers to angels. In this particular verse it refers to angels in Psalms. God made man a little lower than the angels. How do I know? Because in Hebrews chapter 1, this verse is quoted. And remembering the New Testament is from the Greek. The Greek says, "God made man a little lower than", it's God, it'd by theos, but this is angelos, angels. You know what? Angels can do this. They think of a place, they're there. You and I, we think, we're still here. Amen? As we grow older, all right, you want to go to that place, right, and you think you are there, but I assure you, you are still here. It gets worse, you know, but believe God for renewal of youth. Amen? Believe God for renewal of youth.

Now, so the devil, his whole plan, he still believes that he can usurp God's throne on one foundation, on one ground only. How? Only to remember this. In Psalms 89, it says, verse 14, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Mercy and truth go before your face". I want you to say this: "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God's throne". God's throne is established on righteousness and justice. If God ever does something unrighteous, or he does something that is not justice, the devil says he will subvert God's throne and next in line. Do you understand? So, his whole technique is to subvert God's throne, to make God do something unrighteous. And when God placed Adam on earth, he knew that God loved men. In a way, he's jealous also, because Hebrews 2 again, all right, last part says, "For indeed God does not give aid to angels". The aid to angels there is fallen angels. Jesus didn't come and die for fallen angels, but he gave aid to the seed of Abraham. Jesus came to die for you and I.

So, when God made man, you can't understand. We are caught in the battle of the ages. All right, so when God made man, and God loved man. It was obvious that God loved man, and God made man in his image. Amen. And God poured into him all goodness. God gave him everything on earth to enjoy, all the millions of trees and fruit tees and all that. And God says, "to show that you honor me," amen, "don't eat from that one tree," which God himself planted. But God says, "Don't eat from it, to show that you honor me as the source of all your blessings". And that's the very tree Satan tempted man to eat. He's not so much attacking man, although he's attacking man. His whole purpose is to attack God, to make God do something out of his love for man, that would compromise his throne, because righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Are you with me so far?

All right, we're coming to the freedom from the fear of death, and you'll walk out of here saying, "Jubilee". Okay, follow me so far. Are you with me? Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. But notice mercy and truth, back to 89, mercy and truth go before your face. What does God enjoy? What does God delight in? Mercy and truth. It's in front of him all the time. What is mercy? Over here it's chesed, which is the word for grace and truth. Literally, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, John 1:17. And that's why God delighted in Jesus. In the Hebrew, chesed v'emet, chesed v'emet. The Bible says, "Let not mercy and truth forsake you, so you shall find favor in the sight of God and man". It's always mercy and truth.

Now, God's heart is in mercy. God's heart is in grace. God's heart is a heart of love. But God cannot exercise love at the expense of righteousness. God cannot exercise mercy at the expense of justice. So, herein lies the devil's cunningness. He wants God in his love for man to compromise his justice. Are you with me so far? Because righteousness is the foundation of God's throne. If ever God compromises on that, there goes his throne. To whom? The devil believes it's him, because justice will cry out for that. So, watch this? I'm going to share with you two stories, and then I'm going to end. Are you ready?

The first story is from the Old Testament. It's a story of King Darius. After King Nebuchadnezzar, all right, of the Babylonians then the Medo-Persian realm started, the kingdom started. And King Darius, he loved Daniel. Daniel has a special place in his heart. King Darius, the king of the Persians. Daniel was from Nebuchadnezzar's time. Daniel was taken captive as a young, young boy, as a young man from Jerusalem when Jerusalem went into captivity of the Babylonians. He was among the captives. But then because of his spirit, he had favor with Nebuchadnezzar. Then when Nebuchadnezzar was, kingdom transferred hands into the Medo-Persian, who took over, now he has favor with King Darius of the Persians. Now watch this. He has so much favor, he loved Daniel so much that he appointed Daniel one of the three presidents of his entire kingdom, and Darius was the ruling kingdom at the time.

So, Daniel was one of the three presidents, or the word is governor in our New King James, one of the three governors. It's like God is the three principle. And he had 120 princes, satraps across his kingdom. But then the Bible says Daniel had an excellent spirit. The other two governors were jealous. All the 120 princes were jealous. Why? They were Persians. Daniel is not. He's a Jew. They all were born in that nation. Daniel was a captive who rose through the ranks. So, they were jealous of Daniel. But of all of them, King Darius loved Daniel the most. So, they devised a plan how to find fault with Daniel. And they cannot find fault with him. He was morally excellent. "Ah," they said, "there's one thing about him. Every day, three times a day, he opened his windows on the balcony, and he worshiped the God of the Hebrews. Maybe we can find something around there".

So, they connived, and they came up with this plan, all right, a plan to present to the king, okay, that "Anyone who petitions any man or any god for 30 days other than you, O king," flattering the king, "will be sent to the den of lions". Okay? So, they came. Let's follow the story. All right, they came to the king and said, "All the governors," the governors are also presidents, "all the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors have consulted together to establish a royal statue and to make a firm decree that whoever petitions any government for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions". The appeal of pride.

You know, I read this verse so many times, I read this story so many times, but it was only this past week that one word jumped out at me that I never saw before. It is the word, all the governors, the very first word all. In other words, they came presenting to the king, as if Daniel is also part of this plan, when actually the entire plan was devised against Daniel. But they made the king think that all the three governors plus all the princes of the land came up with this plan to honor the king for 30 days. And the king wasn't thinking, "Even my Daniel? Well, if Daniel thinks it's okay I think it's okay".

When people come to you and say, "Everybody is saying this about you, usually, it is his wife, their maid, and his mother-in-law, okay"? So when people say everybody, always... never, never, you know. Never worry about that kind of thing. All the governors, and Daniel wasn't consulted. All the governors, the impression. Well, the king whose heart is for... see, the devil saw that God crowned man with glory and honor. God gave man the prominence. God gave man the dominion over the earth. He says, "Hm, God loves man". Hm, God cannot compromise his righteousness. Hm, let's see what happens if I tempt man, and man disobeys. What will his righteousness demand then? You got it? Are you with me so far?

We see this in a little form in the story of Darius, like Darius is the king, like God. Daniel is you and I. Okay? And all the other satraps and all that is the devil and his cohorts. All right? Now let's follow the story. "Now, O King," they told the king, "establish the decree and sign the writing so that it cannot be changed, according of the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter". Wow, once you put it in print in those days, the king will just agree with a clay tablet, with his seal, all right, he will punch it, and that's it. And one thing about the law of the Medo-Persian, once it's established in law, even the king cannot change it. Okay?

So, they said, "Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree. 'Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?,' The king answered, 'The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter". Next, "So they answered and said before the king, 'That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.' And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with Daniel".

Don't miss that. The king loved Daniel. And watch this. "And set his heart", he's displeased, "'Why did I sign that? They laid a trap for me, and I walked into the trap.' And he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. And he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver Daniel". He did his best, but he was bound by the law of the Medo-Persians. Here we have a picture of love, powerless against law. Love powerless against law. Next verse. "Then this man approached the king and said to the king, 'Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed. So, the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, 'Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.'"

So, even the king knew that Daniel is a God-fearing man. Now, what do we have here? We have the heart of a king, who loves his subject, Daniel, who loves this man, Daniel. And who is Daniel? Was he a wicked man? Was he a sinner? No, he is a godly man. He's a righteous man. And this law, is it a holy law? No, it's a wicked law. It's a human law against a godly man. And yet love was powerless against this law. Now, it's not our purpose in this preaching today to share about the outcome, you know. That one we'll preach another day. Okay, we'll preach on How to Spend an Overnight Stay in the Lion's Den. That's another message altogether, okay? Just to let you know that Daniel didn't die. All those who lied about him died, okay? But Daniel did go into the lion's den, okay? Now, the point I'm trying to show you is that the love of the king was not able to manifest.

Now, one thing the devil knows, that God loves man. So, when the devil looks at God, he says, "Hm, how can I get God in a dilemma"? The audacity of the devil. He brings this dilemma even before God. Okay? The thing is this. If God, don't forget. Mercy and truth is in front of God. God's heart is for mercy and truth. Leaders listen. In Micah, this is a wonderful principle. God, it says, "God has shown you, O man, what is good, and what he requires of you: to love mercy". And the word mercy is chesed, grace. To love, your heart must love grace. "But to do justice". So, sometimes, as leaders, all right, our heart must love mercy, but sometimes we must do justice. You understand? But you must never love justice and do justice. You must always love mercy and do justice. Can you imagine a king or a magistrate or a judge, all right, loving mercy, and everything is mercy, it's okay, you know, do mercy? I'm telling you it's a matter of time. People will run over him, and anarchy will rule. So, God is saying to leadership, when something is wrong, address it, but make sure, all right, your heart is always loving mercy and doing justice. Can I have a good amen?

So, again, God loves mercy and truth, but his righteousness and justice is the foundation of his throne. How do you reconcile both? And the devil knew this. If God is powerless, let me just tell you this, and I say this reverently, okay? If God is powerless to save those he loves, and those that he wills to bless, if he's powerless to do that, then what was the point of having his throne? When a king sitting on the throne cannot be supreme, cannot do what he wants as a king, amen. On the other hand, if the king pardons convicted criminals, if God pardons convicted criminals, is that righteous? So, the devil says, "Catch. I thank God, I got him". God cannot compromise his righteousness, and he cannot thereby show mercy. On the other hand, if he cannot show mercy, he's not sovereign. He is not supreme, because his heart's desire is not being executed, and a king should have that privilege, so he's not a king. Are you with me so far?

You see, love powerless against the law. What law is it? A good law? No, a wicked law, a human law. And against who? A sinner? A wicked man? Daniel, a godly man, a righteous man. Now I bring you to another story in the New Testament. It was early morning, and Jesus came, a young rabbi by the name of our Lord Jesus, amen, he came to the temple, and he taught the people in the temple. Now this is the precincts of the temple. And all of a sudden, the harmony and the beauty of the birds singing in the temple, and the people saying amen to his teaching was disrupted with loud voices, angry voices, dragging and whipping, and they brought a woman right in front of Jesus, and most unceremoniously and in a brutal way, they threw her right in front of Jesus. And they said to Jesus, "Master". These are the religious leaders of the day. "We caught this woman in the act of adultery. Now Moses and the law", And Moses' law came from God, "said that such should be stoned. What sayest thou"?

Now, let's analyze this whole thing. I know you've heard me share on this before, but there's always revelation built on God's Word. It never ends. It's like God, his Word is like him. Let's analyze this. Who is the guilty party? In Darius' case, the one they're targeting was a godly man, a righteous man. This was a woman who was a sinner and a helpless sinner. She has no excuse. She's guilty. What was the law they were appealing to? Was it a wicked law? Was it a human law? No, it's God's law, God's law that is holy, righteous, and just. Can you see the situation? And what were they saying? "We caught this woman in the act of adultery, and we brought her to you, and Moses said that such should be stoned. What do you say"?

These leaders, with all their pretensions to righteousness and holiness, if they cared for God's law, if they really cared for God's holiness and all that, they don't have to bring her to Jesus. They've gotta stone her where they found her. There were many willing hands, and there were many rocks in Israel. Why bring her to Jesus? So, the target wasn't so much the woman. The target was the Lord. So, likewise, the devil, in his presenting his case to bring Adam as guilty before God, to bring you and I as guilty before God, and he's just saying, "Hmph, what are you gonna do about it, God"? His target is not so much you and I. We are caught. His whole idea is to attack God's throne to see how God can be righteous and still merciful. If God pardons guilty criminals, is that righteous if he doesn't? Where is the mercy which God is defined by?

So they said, "We'll catch Jesus. If Jesus says, 'Stone her,' all the people will see. Love, he preached about love, but now the law prevails. If Jesus says, 'Don't stone her,' they'll say, 'Whoa, is that righteous?' He's breaking God's law that says, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'" So, either way, they'll catch Jesus. Jesus never answered them. I love how cool the Lord is. Have you noticed that he always has time for anything? When you the gospels right, he always has time. I don't understand why Joseph Prince don't have time. I really don't know. You know, like one day goes so fast. The other day, after New Year came, I preached myself out. I went home. I propped myself. And Monday is my rest day. I just want to vegetate. And I said, "Thank God I stayed up a few days to prepare", because these people are all vociferous, you know, the appetite. And they're all like, "Come on, Pastor Prince, you'd better preach good".

You know, it's like, it's like every week you talk about preparing a public, you know, speech, you know, for one particular date. You are ready. So, you know, I've got to do it every week. So, I just want to vegetate. I said Sunday is still a long way. Next thing I know it's Friday! How in the world did it pass so fast? You can ask my wife. She is here. And I told my wife, "Can you preach"? I still feel that way, because I still feel inadequate. It's not an easy week for me, and now you know why: because the devil doesn't like to have his devices uncovered. Amen? So, always pray for your pastor. You know, the greatest thing you can do for me?

"Pastor Prince, I want to have coffee with you". Nice, I love coffee. All right? But if you can pray for me, that's the greater thing you can do for me, amen? "I want to give you a treat". A treat is wonderful. I love treats, amen? You pray for me and my family is the greatest thing you can do. It's the one thing you can do that transcends time and space, okay? Back to this again. Let's finish. So, Jesus stood up. I want to tell you this. Never rush. Jesus never answered them. They said, "What do you say? Moses said this. What do you say"? And Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground. You know what, church? Let me just tell you this. Never be in a hurry when you are pushed for a decision. Never be hasty. Never, never be hasty.

Somebody says you've gotta decide now, say, "Then I'm not deciding". Okay, never be pushed. The devil likes to push. The devil drives people and makes you think it's the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads. The devil drives. If you feel pushed, it's the devil. If you are led, it's the Holy Spirit. And usually it's from outside, the pressures that push you to do something. But the Spirit is from inside, that still, small voice, that peace. Okay, we're going to learn to flow with that, amen? Amen? Don't make decisions based on convenience. Don't make decisions based on time. In negotiation, the one that doesn't bother about timeline compared to the one, the other party that bothers about it is the one that wins. I don't know who I'm talking to, but it's all good. Praise God. Amen?

Now, back to this. So, Jesus took his time. He wrote on the ground. And you've seen it before, that he wrote on stone. That's one of the benefits of going to Israel. I used to think that, you know, he wrote on dust. I hear preaching saying he wrote on dust and all that. He wrote on the earth. But when I went to Israel, I saw the model of Jerusalem and the ancient temple. Everywhere I see the ground was stone, and they uncovered the ground. The 2,000-year-old cobble ground right belong the temple mount, and it's all cobblestone. So, Jesus was teaching in the precincts of the temple. He was actually writing on stone. Like a flash, I saw that. God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone.

So, Jesus, by his action, was saying, "You presume to tell me about the law? I am the one who gave the law". And then he stood up, and they're all straining to hear what he says. How will God extricate himself in this situation? How can God compromise or exercise mercy? If the Pharisees didn't believe that Jesus loved that woman, they would not have brought her to him. They knew. So, they want to see how he settles it. He stood up, and he says, "He that is without sin amongst you, throw the first stone". Did he break the law? No. Was the woman spared? Yes. Was there a lowering of his righteousness? No. Was there mercy at the expense of justice? No. True, but he that is without sin, throw the first stone. Actually, there was one person without sin standing there, and he could've cast the first stone.

So, one by one, they left. They would, if they could, but they could not. He could if he would, but he would not. They left one by one. And the Bible says only Jesus and that woman was left. She's probably not looking at him. She's too embarrassed and still weeping. And Jesus asked her this question, "Where are those who accuse you"? And for the first time, she lifted her eyes and looked around. I love it. It's almost like, you know the devil's name in the book of Revelation? The accuser of our brethren. He comes to you and say, "All right, you're a God-fearing man. You love the Lord. But look at what you just did. Look at the thoughts in your head". And you know something? You're not God. See what Pastor Prince is saying? God is a God who cannot bless you at the expense of his righteousness. You've got it coming. The rooster is coming home to roost. Nothing to do with the year of the rooster. It's coming home to roost.

So, again, there's the thing. And the devil plays your conscience. So, Jesus, the first thing he asked, "Where are those who accused you"? I love it. And she looked up, and she said, "No one, Lord". She calls him Lord. "And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.'" That's the essence of my ministry. In restoring the gospel of grace, the essence of it is we're not saying no condemnation. You can go and live your life anyhow. We never say that, but it is only when you realize that there is no condemnation on a righteous foundation. I'm gonna tell you the righteous foundation, all right, are you empowered? Then to go and sin no more. But no condemnation comes first.

Churches sometimes says you go and sin no more. Then there's no condemnation for you. But Jesus didn't do that. Jesus gave her the gift of no condemnation, to empower her to go and sin no more. Listen. Now what law is this? Is it a wicked law? No, it's God's law? Was there a godly woman? No, the woman is the guiltiest. Yet we see now the law is powerless against love. Just now we saw that love was powerless against the law. Now we see the law is powerless against love. "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more".

Now, I put the next verse because it's very interesting we close with this. "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'" Now, have you noticed, then Jesus spoke to them again, but actually he was left. We studied the passage earlier. You find that he was left alone. They all left. They left the place where Jesus was preaching. Only Jesus and the woman was left. He ministered to her. Obviously, he walked outside to where they were. They were kicking their stones that they dropped on the ground. They were talking to each other. They were murmuring. And Jesus said this to them. Beautiful. "I am the light of the world".

Now many are times we are afraid of God's light. You know why people are afraid to come to church? You know why people are afraid to come to God or even to pray to God? Because in the natural, man's flesh is afraid of God because instinctively man knows that he's darkness, and they know that God is light, and they are so afraid to come into the light, because all their flaws will come out. You know, they are afraid of that, but actually, that's the natural man. Every natural man has that. But the truth of the beautiful story of grace is this. Jesus said, "I'm the light of the world," right after he says, "Neither do I condemn you," which means what? "The light I bring for my followers, the light I bring is not a light that shows how sinful you are. Obviously, you have sins in your life. That's why I'm Savior. But the light is to show the perfection of my work in your life, in removing all your sins on the righteous foundation". Are you listening?

Then he says, "He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life". You know that "shall not" there is ou me, a double negative in the Greek, which means it's impossible for a true believer to walk in darkness. 1 John 1:7 does not tell you how to walk. It tells you where you're walking: in darkness or in the light. If you are a believer, you're always in the light. "But I notice I was a true believer, but I remember one whole month I turned my back on God". But you were still in the light. It was shining on your backside. Just turn around, turn around, turn around and face the light. The light is still there. So, Jesus knew. The question still begs an answer, isn't it? How can Jesus forgive this woman who committed adultery, caught in the act? How can he? Yeah, he did most beautifully. But how can he let her go and maintain his righteousness? It's as if he was qualified to condemn her. He had no sin. But it's as if he let her go.

Is God righteous in doing that? The devil will cry foul, but watch this. In Romans 3, "Being justified freely," I love that word freely, "by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood". That's a big word, propitiation. Actually, propitiation is the Greek word used in the Old Testament for the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. So, God set forth Jesus as the mercy seat "by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because," watch this, "in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed". In other words, in the Old Testament, it's as if God passed over their sins. God covered their sins on Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement every year. Anyway, and God deals with them to bless them. All of them were sinners, but it's as if God didn't notice their sins. He passed over their sins.

In Jesus's time, he had not yet died, this woman caught in adultery, how come he was able to pass over her sins? How come he was able to pass over other people's sins and heal them, open their blind eyes, unstop deaf ears? It's as if he was passing over their sins and giving them the blessings, passing over their sins and giving them the blessings, passing over their sins and giving them the blessings. How can God be righteous now? Now he demonstrates righteousness, the cross. He would have to pay for every one of it. So, God is now demonstrating his righteousness at the cross. That's where the blood comes in. He must shed his blood for that woman to be forgiven righteously. For that blind eyes to open righteously, when that person deserves to be blind, it must take blood to open his eyes. And the day will come when the church realize they're not begging God to heal based on God's, you know, preference that day.

Some people have this idea if God wants to heal, God can heal. No, there'll come a day in the church that we will ask God to heal, because it is a sentence of righteousness. It's based on a righteous foundation. And you will see amazing miracles, as we are seeing in this ministry. Now watch this. It says, "To demonstrate at the present time," after Jesus died and rose again. His righteousness, in other words, God did not just pass by over their sins at the expense of his justice, at the expense of his righteousness. He will pay for it, and Jesus did at the cross. So, God is now demonstrating that he is righteous. Amen? Yet he's loving. All right?

"To demonstrate the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus". I like the Young's translation. "For the showing forth of His righteousness in the present time, for His being righteous". God is showing how he's righteous in bypassing, as if he didn't notice your sin. Amen? In the Gospels, when they came to Jesus, he never mentioned their sin. Your sin is holding back this miracle. "Oh, come and pray for my daughter. She's dying". "I'm sorry, I can't. All right, you have sin". He never says that. It's as if he didn't notice their sins, and now God is demonstrating how he's righteous in doing that. I know I used this illustration before. It's a very poor illustration. I'm doing my best. Okay? For a guy who vegetated only on Monday and trying his best. So, it's like a Visa card payment. The Visa card is not a real payment. The real payment is when you pay. All right?

So, all the healings he did, he will pay at the cross. So the devil comes to you and say, "You deserve what is happening to you right now". He's not wrong. See, the devil doesn't accuse you based on lies. The masterpiece of his accusation is that... I mean, the crowning achievement... no, you can't say it that way, is that he's basing it on facts, on truth. You did fail. That woman failed. So, don't deny it. See, I did it, but it's paid at the cross. And a lot of people do not know this, so they fear death. They fear the judgment. They have a fearful expectation of evil in their future. They are afraid one day the rooster comes home to roost. You know, they are afraid anything that happens, their child falls sick, oh, it is because, you know, the adultery I committed, or fornication, you know, before we were married and all that. Everything comes back. It's like, you know, they've been holding it all the while. They never really believed it was judged.

Let me illustrate. Let's say I'm in prison, okay? Don't use the imagination too hard, okay? But just don't believe for it to happen. But let's say I'm in prison for a capital crime. I committed murder, okay? And it's premeditated. You know, and the sentence carries with it death, okay? So, I'm speaking in the light of my US viewers and all that. My prosecuting district attorney comes to me. He looks at me through the bars and he tells me, "I've been waiting for this day. I'll tell you this. Your trial is coming, and I'll do my utmost best to press against you all the laws. All right, the weight of the law. I won't settle for anything but death, the death penalty". Every day he comes to me. "Hi. Just to remind you, your day is getting closer. And I'll use all the burden and the weight of the law on my side to press for your death sentence".

So, during that time, watch this, this is Hebrews 2:14. During that time, who has the power of death? The prosecuting district attorney. Right? Do I fear him? In a sense, yes. Do I fear the sentence? Yes. Am I living in bondage? No, not a prison. My spirit, which is worse bondage. Do I have liberty of heart? Do I have liberty of spirit, my mind? No. Worse than the iron bars is this bondage. I live in constant fear of death because of that public, the district attorney. And every day he comes and reminds me. I cannot sleep. I cannot eat. I'm so skinny. I have to run around in the shower to get wet.

And then one day, a man walked in, in my prison cell, and he's a man well known for his integrity and an impeachable character, an honest man. He's famous. He's well known, a man of honesty. He steps in and says, "Hey, I bring good news". I said, "What is it"? "Your case is settled. You have been executed". I said, "What do you mean"? "If you want to, I can bring you right now to where the hanging took place. A man walked in, present himself to the authorities and said that he would take your place, and the authorities have agreed. And now you will see his body hanging still at the gallows. He's dead. Now, if you will accept his substitution, you are free". It's not a very good illustration, but presents the point of the gospel. You are free. The door front is open. I am not free because the sentence wasn't executed. It was executed, but somebody paid for it. So, I walk outside.

The very first week of my freedom, I go to People's Park. And guess who I saw? The prosecuting attorney. And he comes to me and said, "I'm gonna get you somehow". He's threatened me again and again and again. Am I affected? Am I moved by his threats? Absolutely not. Do you know that the devil, he's not destroyed as in cease to exist. The word Jesus, through death, destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. The word destroyed there is katargeo in Greek, which means to nullify him, to deprive him of the power of death. But if you do not know what happened at the cross, you will still fear him. But now I know, and I will not do dishonor to the man who died in my place by fearing this accuser. Am I afraid of him? No. Am I afraid of his threats? No. Where are all his power of death that he had before? Clean, completely gone. That's what happened to the devil.

Now watch this, watch this. The tables are turned on him. The tables are all turned on him. And I'm going to close with this. "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn". Who is talking this? Who is saying this to us? "'This is the inheritance, the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,' says the Lord". Jesus became sin at the cross with your sins and my sins, that you and I might become the righteousness of God in Christ.

Now, the most honoring thing that you can do towards God, the most Christ exalting thing you can say today is, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ". When you say that, you give honor to what Jesus did. But to say, "I'm so sinful, I have so much sins, I know that God may not heal me because I've done so many things that's bad". Or you feel that way, you may not say it, but you feel that way, it's a dishonor the work of Jesus. It's to call into question, when he said it is finished, you are saying it's not finished. Amen.

If God accepted the sacrifice, who are you not to? I'll tell you this. What Jesus did at the cross, righteousness and mercy kissed. It's the wisdom of God. The cross is the power of God unto salvation. The devil was hoping that God would exercise one or the other and cause his throne to crumble, that he might succeed God, but here the wisdom of God, that even the ages did not know, but at the right time, at the fullness of time, the battle of the ages, God sent forth his Son. For God so loved the world. There was a time we see love powerless against law. Now we see law, and God's law, mind you, powerless against love. The devil is now on the defense. He's now, and all that God has done in making us the righteousness of God, there's not one word of protest from the devil, because all the blood was shed. He never believed that God would love us that much, that God would send his Son to die. And now his Son has died. The blood has been shed. His mouth is shut. Not one word of protest.

Now, watch this. The tables are turned on him because if I aim for someone, let's say If I accuse someone falsely of murder, I testify in court, I say that that person, I saw him commit a murder. All right, what am I after? I'm after his death, because the sentence of murder is death. In other words, I'm aiming for him to die. Later on, it's found out that it's false. Guess what? The tables are turned on me. I am now a murderer, because I was aiming for his... do you follow what I am saying? I am now the guilty party. For the devil to question your righteousness will make him guilty, even more guilty. All right? Therefore, to declare "I am the righteousness of God in Christ". Don't just say, "By his stripes, I am healed," when you are sick. Say first, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ, and by his stripes I am healed". That will give you a solid foundation.

When the devil comes to you, when you say "By his stripes, I'm healed," he'll say, "How can you when you've done this? Don't forget last year. Don't forget that time when you were overseas". And he will remind you of all this. So, start off by saying, "I am the righteousness". The sentence of righteousness, and you are made righteous. And the more you say it, the more you own it. You are doing honor and glory to what Jesus did. And I've preached myself happy. That's it. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah! Jubilee!

Every head bowed, every eye closed all across this place. Friend, I want to give you an opportunity to accept that substitution of the man that hung on that tree for you and I. Amen? It doesn't come by osmosis. You know, God cannot force salvation. It must be received. Just like that man in prison, he has to believe that that man hung for him. He must accept it for it to be actual in his life. So, if that's you, my friend, wherever you are, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done for you on that cross. On the third day, God raised him from the dead, and that's like a divine receipt of heaven, saying that God accepts what his Son has done. So perfectly are we freed. So fully has justice been satisfied, that God raised his Son from the dead, and today God declares you and I righteous by his blood. If you want to receive that, pray this prayer with me right now. Say:

Heavenly Father, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he died on that cross for all my sins. He bore all my judgment, and he was cursed, that I might be blessed. Rejected, that I might be accepted. Thank you, Father. You raised him from the dead, your divine receipt, that all that he has done is fully accepted on my behalf. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, and I thank you, Father. You have made me, not by my works, but you have made me, through the blood of Jesus, the righteousness of God in Christ. And all the blessings of the righteous is now mine. Thank you, Father, in Jesus's name, (and all the people said) amen.

Stand to your feet. If you prayed that prayer, my friend, you are now a brand-new creation in Christ. Amen? In God's eyes, all the demons in hell cannot stop you from becoming a new creation. Amen? Amen. We are in a spiritual warfare, still. Need to put on the whole armor of God, but remember this. If God be for us, who can be against us? There are more with us than with them, amen? But the battle is still on, and the devil is thriving on people's ignorance, but today I declare to you jubilee from the fear of death. Amen. Freedom. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. And freedom therefore from every bondage in your life. Amen? Lift your hands all across this place.

This coming week, the Lord bless you and the Lord keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be favorable to you. And he is because of the blood of Jesus. And the Lord bless you with the blessings of Abraham. And you have every right to receive that blessing, not because you're worthy, but because he has sentenced you as the righteousness of God in Christ, deserving of all these blessings, amen. The Lord keep you from all evil, from every infection, from disease, from danger, from harm, from all the power of the evil one throughout this week, you and your families, your loved ones. And the Lord grant you peace, you and your families, wonderful peace. In Jesus's name, amen.