Joseph Prince - The Lord Our Righteousness

It's so good to be back home. This is home. I always feel at home, and I don't say that lightly. There's just an atmosphere, you know, of people of the same tribe, one Israel, 12 tribes. But tonight, we're all from the same tribe, hope, and grace, and the love of God, amen? And people are amazing because on my way here, it was raining and y'all went through the rain, amen, just to be in the house of God to receive the Word, and I believe you're gonna receive something special. I don't want to give you milk, I want to give you meaty stuff, okay? Is that okay? Praise the Lord.

So, you relaxing in the presence of the Lord, enjoy his love. And one of the beautiful things about New Testament preaching is that you don't have to wait to apply all the steps before you see the breakthrough, before you see the miracle. The Bible says, "It has pleased God that by the foolishness of preaching to save, to heal, to deliver those who listen. While the Word is going forth, God is sozoing you. Expect the miracle to happen as the Word goes forth. And many a times in my ministry, we have testimonies of people who keep on hearing the Word and they don't have to apply anything, just listening to the Word. There's power in hearing the Word of God. In the original texts, Romans 10:17 says, "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ". It's not Theos, it is Christos. It is the Word of Christ. It's always the Lord Jesus Christ, hearing about him that brings the miracles.

That woman the issue of blood, her miracle began when she heard of Jesus. That's how miracles start. If you want a miracle to happen in the lives of your loved ones, your children, amen, always open your mouth and start talking about Jesus. Let's talk about Jesus the King of kings is he The Lord of lords supreme throughout eternity Great things happen when you talk about Jesus. You do don't know how to preach, you don't have to have a degree. You don't have to have a diploma in theology or whatever. Just start talking about Jesus, share your testimony, amen? Amen, people? He's here tonight. As the Word goes forth, God sozos. It has pleased God that by the foolishness of preaching to save, and the word "save" there is sozo, to heal, to deliver, to make whole. This is his delivery system, amen.

Now, notice it doesn't say it has pleased God by the foolishness of preachers, but by the foolish of preaching. God's says just by talking, people are saved, but make sure the subject is all about Jesus, amen, and what we are in him, what he has done for us, the finished work, amen. You know, folks, once you are saved, you are eternally saved. You cannot unsave yourself. You asked for it. When you got saved, you are eternally saved. You see, people sin because they are sinners. They don't become sinners because they sin. The Bible says, "By one man's disobedience, we're all made sinners, amen? By the same token, by the obedience of one man, hallelujah, we are all made righteous. Now, when we were sinners, we could not undo our sinnership by doing right. Isn't that what we preachers tell people? Isn't it what the Bible says that no matter what good you do, if you are a sinner, you're still a sinner? What ever good deed you do cannot change the fact that you are a sinner. You need to be born again.

Now, what makes us think for one moment that now that we are saved by one man's obedience, by an act of sin, we have now become unrighteous again? I mean, something is wrong when we can undo the work of Jesus when sinners cannot undo the work of Adam. We have a higher regard for Adam than the last Adam. Come on, my friend, the Son of God, his work is forever! By one man's obedience, we are made righteous. It is not by your obedience, it is not by my obedience, but the obedience of that one man we are made righteous, amen. Read up on Romans 4, Romans 5 and have a revelation. It's not about you. It's not about me. It's about Jesus, amen? It is amazing, it's like we cannot undo what Adam did. By Adam's disobedience, we are all made sinners. That's why in heaven one day, Adam will have a special area. All right, his house is high century guard, you know, with angels and all that because everybody is looking for him. He brought all this mess on us, right? No, no, heaven is a beautiful place. We'll forgive Adam. But by Adam's sin, by Adam's disobedience, we're all made sinners.

So, we sin because we are sinners. We are sinners because of Adam's sin, amen? Now that we are saved by one man's obedience, how are you and I made righteous? By one man's obedience. By one man's obedience, we are made righteous. Now, when we sin, and we... come on, folks, I'm not encouraging people to sin, all right, but you will sin. When you sin, what do you believe? Do you believe that by your act of sin, you have become unrighteous? Then what we are saying in essence is that what Adam did is greater than what Jesus did, the last Adam. So, you know something? Once you're saved, you are permanently and eternally righteous. Now, does that promote sin? No, it doesn't, it's the opposite.

Let me read to you a testimony of someone from America. She's from Michigan, and she wrote this, and it's in one of my books. "I've been a Christian for most of my life until I started listening to Pastor Joseph Prince, but until I started listening to him teach about God's grace, I never understood what true forgiveness of all my past, present, and future sins really meant. Before I heard the message of grace, a cloud of guilt and condemnation always hung over me. It rocked me of having any peace, even though I believed in God and believed I was forgiven. I was also addicted to drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes for many years. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I could not free myself from my addictions, even though I kept trying to. However, after listening to Pastor Prince's many messages on God's grace, I began to see changes in my life. Now not only have I been delivered from alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes, I also have the peace of mind as well as joy and contentment I never thought was possible". Hallelujah, Lord.

"Pastor Prince, I'm in total agreement. Listen, I'm in total agreement with what you teach that if people knew about God's grace, they wouldn't want to sin because that's been so true of my life. Today, I'm happy to say that I live in constant continual peace". I wish that every pastor in America can hear this, every preacher can hear this. It is almost like when someone preaches the law, the devil doesn't put up a hedge. When somebody preaches on grace, the devil put up all kinds of hedges, "Be careful of that message". When somebody sins in a church of grace and hope, they will say it's the message they are preaching. When somebody sins in a legalistic church where the law is being preached, nobody say it's the law. We've been hoodwinked. The devil never appears more subtle, more cunning than when he approaches you as an angel of light, as a religious devil. Are you listening, people?

"Today, I'm happy to say that I live in constant, continual peace and I can't begin to tell you how good it feels to be sober and completely off drugs and alcohol. Before this had happened, I thought I would die a drunk and a drug addict. I have truly been changed and transformed from the inside out. My thinking has been totally transformed and I've since let go of unforgiveness, a bondage that almost destroyed me completely. I just couldn't figure out how to totally let go until I experienced God's grace in my own life. Please continue to teach God's grace". I will. "I know that many other lives will be changed as a result for if God could make this miraculous change in my life, he can do it for anyone". Come on church, hallelujah! Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Now, it doesn't mean you are perfect. Once you're born again, you've been made righteous in the eyes of God forever. You will fail, you will fall here and there, but you know when Noah fell in the ark, there were times that the storm was a little bit tumultuous and the ark might rock a little bit more, he might lose his balance, but he always fell in the ark. He never felt out the ark. You are saved, rest in his love, amen? Praise the Lord. All that was free. Okay, that's not my message. I want to teach you some Hebrew tonight, is that okay? I want to teach you some Hebrew. Y'all love Hebrew? "Well, I don't know, Pastor Prince, you know my wife, she brews coffee, and he brews tea, but I love". No, Hebrew, the language. All over the world, there's a grace revolution happening, all over the world. It is like a flood tide.

There is a prophecy in Jeremiah. Jeremiah mentioned about the end times, our times when God will bring... let's read that Jeremiah 23, "But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries". Now, Prophet Jeremiah prophesied at the time when Israel went into captivity to only one nation, Babylon. But here it says they'll come back from out of all countries. It's our day and age. In France alone, the Jewish population numbers about more than 550,000 people, third largest in the world after Israel and the U.S. In the last five years alone, in the last five years, more than 20,000, French Jews have made Aliyah, or Jewish immigration, back to Israel, amen, most of them young people and families. So, we are seeing this fulfilled. Something's gonna happen during this time and God says, "When I bring them back out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them," not beat them.

Smiling shepherds that represent grace and hope, amen? Good looking ones, one better than the other. We've been told that so I gotta believe it. You know, I tell you something, I rather walk by faith than walk by sight, I'm telling you that. It's a safe place, it's a safe place to be. When God brings the Jewish people back from all the countries of the world, this is gonna happen. "I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them;" and three things will happen to the people of God. Number one, they shall fear no more, they shall fear no more. Fear is such a, it's become a culture even in this nation. People are afraid to travel. People are afraid. You know, fear, I think it was one of your presidents that said, "There's nothing to fear but fear itself". You know, we talk about all the big sins, but in the Book of Revelation those that went up in hell, the first group are the fearful and unbelieving.

Friend, I'm here to tell you when you receive right feeding like you receive in this house, the people will fear no more, amen. The next thing, that's the first result, "nor be discouraged or dismayed". That's the second thing, they will not be discouraged. The third thing, "Nor shall they be lacking," amen. They will prosper. They will not be lacking for the Lord is their shepherd, they shall not lack, amen. Now, one of the best thoughts to have while you're shutting down your eyes to sleep at night is to have this thought, "The Lord is My shepherd, I will not lack. I will not lack for healing. I will not lack for provision. I will not lack for peace". Then go to sleep, but not know, okay? Now, these shepherds, God's gonna raise up these shepherds during the grace revolution.

Now, I'm getting ahead of myself, but I'm telling you this passage tells you what's gonna happen, when it's gonna happen when God brings all the Jewish people out of all the countries of the earth. And it tells you he's gonna raise up shepherds. He's doing it right now, praise God, amen? I mean Joel and I almost came up from nowhere, amen? And we are only one, a few of an army of shepherds that feed and not beat, amen. And the three things that are gonna happen to the flock and after that, the Bible tells us the message that'll be preached during this time. "'The days are coming,'" says the Lord, 'That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness.'" Now, look at verse 6, In His days Judah will be saved, Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS," Jehovah Tsidkenu.

That's the message that will feed the people that will cause them to fear no more, nor be discouraged, nor be lacking. You are not your own righteousness. The Lord is your righteousness. You don't have it all together, but hey, the Lord is your righteousness. And the more you believe that, when you believe right, you will live right, amen. The message of Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness means you are not your own righteousness. Can I have a good amen? Then it tells you this is the message that the shepherds will feed the people with. This is the message of the hour, the message of hope, the message of grace. And it's amazing, some people will fight you for preaching hope and grace, amen? I cannot understand that. It is almost like there's a veil over their eyes, you know, dead orthodoxy. But how many people are they getting saved? With all your correct doctrine, how many are responding to Jesus at your preaching?

In this house, the ministry of Joel Osteen have people that are more than 50% tuning in who are not churchgoers, who are not born-again, turning in, tuning in, and all they know that God is a good God, and they see it on the reflection of the handsome face. This won't go off easy. It's like the mercy of God, it might just go on forever. Look at this, the Lord our righteousness, this is the name by which he'll be called. And then it tells you when it's gonna happen again. "'Therefore, behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that they shall no longer say, As the Lord lives who brought the children of Israel from the land of Egypt". Remember Moses, Charlton, "Moses". And Charlton Heston, God says this Exodus is gonna be such it will eclipse the one from Egypt. It's our day and age. And it says, But they will no longer say that, but they will say, "As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country," that's Russia, "and from all the countries," like France, "where I had driven them. And they shall dwell in their own land".

It tells you when it's gonna happen. It tells you what will be the results, amen? The people will fear no more, nor be discouraged, nor be lacking, and it tells you what is the message that we preached during this time. So, this message, this grace revolution is not an accident. It is part of the plan of God, amen. And God is so serious about it. I might not teach about Hebrew tonight. It looks like you may have to come back tomorrow. We'll see how it goes, all right, because I just want to follow the Spirit here. The gospel of grace is such that God puts a double curse on anyone who preach another gospel. Look at what Galatians tells. Paul says this in Galatians, "I marvel". Now, this marvel is not Marvel comics. "I'm shocked and I'm surprised that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel".

Notice, the grace of Christ to a different gospel. What is a different gospel? Anything that's not the grace of Christ. "I marvel you're turning away". Paul says, "I'm shocked that you're turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel". Anything that's not the grace of Christ is a different gospel. But today, the devil has so deceived the church to the point that the opposite seems true. When you preach the grace of Christ, they're saying it's a different gospel. Look at this, what's a different gospel? Anything that's not the grace of Christ. "Which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ". Let's drop down. "But even if we," Paul is including himself here, we or an angel from heaven". He's not talking about an angel from hell, y'all, an angel from heaven. "Even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed," anathema.

I mean, serious business. This a grace preacher here pronouncing this and he says, he includes himself. He says, "Even we or an angel from heaven, should we preach any other gospel than the gospel of grace and hope let him be anathema, let us be anathema," he says that, "Let us be accursed". "As we have", He's gonna pronounce it again in case you didn't get the point. "As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you". Now he includes anyone else. "If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received," from us that is, "let him be accursed". It's a double curse. I asked the Lord one time I said, "Lord, why are you so severe on this"? And you know what he said to me? "Because I love the people".

And this curse is gonna stop anyone that's gonna hinder the gospel. When the curse comes, let me tell you when you're under the curse, nothing flows. Your health can be affected. It seems like even your finances dry up. There's no breakthroughs, amen. God doesn't give you the platform. Your words fall to the ground. It's like there is something you can't explain, but you come to a standstill, why? Because God loves the people. There are those who feel like they have a greater revelation from God than Pastor Joel, or even me, or whatever, then let God give you the platform. Let God give you the influence. Let God gave you the charisma. Let God open the doors for you. But with all the revelation that you claim you received from God and nothing is happening, mm-hmm. We rest our case, amen?

Come on, it's not, definitely it's not my good looks. There's one better than me. It's the favor of God. He depends on his looks, I depend on the favor of God, y'all. You don't want to stand in the way of the gospel being preached. Don't you lend your words, don't you lend your actions to resist, or stop, the gospel from being preached. God will remove you. If I read this right, because he loves the people. When I was, you know, I've been sharing this quite some time now, even in a recent conference, but it was recently in my hotel just here when I just arrived in L.A. just a few days ago in my hotel room, the Lord spoke to me from the story of Paul was preaching in Cyprus. He was preaching to the deputy of the country, his name was Paulus. The Apostle Paul was preaching the gospel of grace to him, and there was a sorcerer in that city, his name was Elymas, and the Bible says he was a sorcerer and he deceived the people with his sorcery for some time. But the moment he tried to hinder Paul from preaching the gospel, Paul turned to him and said, "The hand of a Lord be upon you, and you shall be blind for a season". And straightaway, he was blinded.

Now, by the way, the mercy of God, blind for a season. Now, when I was in the hotel room, this really got me. When he was busy sorcering, I know it's not the right word to use but, when he was busy sorcerering, nothing happened to him but the moment he tried to hinder the gospel, he was struck blind. Now, sorcery is evil, sorcery is bad, right, but nothing happened to him when he was doing all that stuff. But the moment he tried to hinder the gospel, you know, God gave his Son to die on that cross so that grace, like a flood tide, will be released upon lost humanity, and he will see to it that the sufferings of his Son will not be in vain, amen? People out there, you know, "Well, Pastor Prince, you guys need to preach more on repentance, amen". Let me tell you this, the Apostle Paul in Acts 20 he says, "God sent me to preach repentance toward God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, repentance towards God. What is repentance towards God? Repentance is the metanoia, change your mind towards God. You used to think that God is against you, now you know God is for you.

That's the message Joel preaches, come on. He's preaching repentance, but not the way you want him to preach, amen? You don't have to say repent for people to repent. If I have measles, all right, and I say that I have chickenpox, actually I have measles and you never had measles before. So I said, "Don't worry you had chickenpox, okay, I have chickenpox. It's not anything, just chickenpox. You won't get what I say, you'll get what I am, the reality, amen. So, it's not the words, "repent, repent.' There are those who beat their breath crying, "Jesus, Jesus," and still they are the same with all the drama, but there are people who sit down there quietly. I'm not against that, okay? I'm just telling you you want to cry, you want to yell, go ahead. You think that you're repenting when you're crying, give me a hammer.

It's okay to yell but sometimes, you know, without the drama, every Sunday in this church repentance is going on all the time. People's minds are being changed, amen? They start believing for God-sized answers to prayers. They see a good God, repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. That's true repentance. In fact, the Bible says that Judas, in the Old King James, repented himself. The word" repent" is used. In the New King James, Judas was remorseful and brought the money back to the Pharisees, but the Bible says he's the Son of perdition. He never repented, why? He went to hang himself, the ultimate act of self-righteousness, he wanted to pay for his own sins. If he had just waited for a few hours, another would hang for him. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times with cursing and swearing, but Peter waited, amen, until Jesus hung for him. And Jesus gave a message on the Day of Resurrection to the disciples, "Go tell the disciples," to the women, "go tell the disciples and Peter," amen?

So, it's not this remorseful, even feeling remorseful, but it is whether your mind is changed. can I have a good amen, people? So, are you listening to the true gospel being preached? Is this the true gospel? Recently I was in Israel, and I was preaching in the old ruins of Bethsaida. And I was preaching from the seven woes, from the woes of Jesus, you know, W-O-E, not whoa, it's woe. "So, do you preach from the woes, Pastor Prince"? Yes, I do, amen? This grace preacher preaches the whole Bible, but when you understand the heart of Jesus, even the woes have revelation of grace in it. So, I was reading, he said to Bethsaida, "Woe to you, Bethsaida. If the mighty works that were done in you was done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes".

Have you read that before? You know what? You're looking at me kind of wondering. I don't have this verse up here, all right, but turn with me to Matthew 11. Open up your Bible so you have some semblance we're in church. Okay, Matthew 11. Look at this, verse 21, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works, miracles, which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes". If the miracles of grace that you saw me perform was done in Tyre and Sidon, the two cities of the Phoenician coast, the Syrian coast, that was a great city like New York, but today is no longer there, amen? Used to be like a huge city out in the ocean, and God destroyed the city. And Jesus is saying, "If the mighty work that was done in you, Bethsaida, was done in them, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes.

Now watch this, then Jesus said, "Woe to you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven," You know what's Capernaum? Capernaum is is called the town of Jesus, amen? Outside of Nazareth, it's called the town of Jesus. That's where Jesus did most of his miracles. The woman with the issue of blood was healed in Capernaum. The centurion servant was healed in Capernaum, amen? Jairus's daughter was raised from the dead in Capernaum. Jesus did many miracles in Capernaum. It's called the town of Jesus. Now, Capernaum is today in ruins, you can go and visit there, all right, it's in ruins. Now Jesus said, "This Capernaum, you are exalted to heaven," why? The Son of God lived there. The Son of God ministered there. They were exalted to heaven. "But you shall be brought down, to Hades, to hell, for if the mighty works, for if the mighty works, if the miracles which were done in you had been done in Sodom, Sodom would have remained until this day".

I was teaching this and the Holy Spirit opened my eyes, the sin against grace, rejection of grace, is worse than the sin of Sodom. It's in the Bible. You know, sometimes you're teaching on live shoot, right? And then you stop for a while, the person behind the camera was thinking, "What's going on"? And I had this revelation, and not only that, not only that, the Lord Jesus is telling us how to reach out to these precious people. If the mighty works that were done in you, Capernaum, was done in Sodom, the way we reach out to these precious people is not to condemn them, but go to them and say, "Do you have any prayer requests? We serve a miracle-working God, and God loves you. Do you have any prayer requests? I'm in touch with him". I understand the moral issues of the day, the moral issues of the day in America, I understand that. But I think the most important thing is to preach the gospel, preach the good news, and don't get sidestepped into all these other things.

You know, what Joel is doing, he's preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And hey, hey, hey, listen, listen, if, if preaching another gospel than the gospel of grace and hope is gonna cause a double curse to come, I figured a long time ago if I preach the true gospel, I'm gonna get doubly blessed. Provision is gonna flow, there's gonna open doors, there'll be favor, hallelujah. Come on, my mama didn't raise no fool, amen? As you continue to share the gospel of grace and get excited about grace, you know something? The Apostle Paul, he was the most legalistic Pharisee you can find. But you know something? God struck him down from his high horse, and for three days, he was blinded. Then God sent someone called Ananias, in the Hebrew his name is Hananiah means the grace of God, Hananiah, grace of Yah. God send the grace of God to open his eyes. The first thing Paul saw after he was blinded was the grace of God, and he became an apostle of grace.

Come on, church, shout your praises to him! Hallelujah, God is a good God! What a gift, what a gift. He made us righteous apart from our deeds, just like Jesus became sin on the cross apart from his deeds, Jesus didn't become sin by doing sin, oh no. The Apostle Peter, a man of action, said of Jesus, he did no sin. Paul, a man of intelligence, said of Jesus, "He knew no sin". John, a man of love, a man of the heart says, "In him is no sin". Even the one who betrayed him said, "I have betrayed innocent blood". The wife of Pontius Pilate said, "Don't have anything to do with that just man". The centurion at the foot of the cross when he saw the way Jesus died he says, "Certainly, this is the Son of God," and yet he died a most horrible death on the cross, why? Because he loves you. He did no sin, knew no sin, but he received your sin.

Now the best thing you can do to honor what he did is to receive his righteousness, and you are righteous apart from your deeds. The way he became a sinner, apart from his deeds, amen? My time is up. Sit back at this time, I'm gonna show you the price paid 2,000 years ago. For the longest time, I've been wanting to put what I see in the Spirit on video for the people to see because I see things in the Spirit happen to Jesus at the cross, and I see him absorbing all the judgment and for years when I'm preaching, I would try to describe it, I tried to elucidate it, but words failed me. So finally, we got this done last year, a video, it's not really exactly what I saw, but it comes close. Enjoy this because this is the price paid that you might be righteous before God and enjoy all his blessings. Sit back, dim the lights, here we go.

Amen. By one man's obedience, we're all made righteous, amen? Stand tall in that gift. Every time you confess, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ, you bring glory to him and he will see the travail of his soul and he'll be satisfied, amen? Praise the Lord.