Joseph Prince - Discover God's Way to Bless You

We started a series many, quite many weeks ago now because the first time I touched on was actually talking about 3 John 2, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers". Remember, I was sharing with you this a number of weeks ago and then from there, we branched off into the area of healing, health, healing, all right, for a number of weeks. Also I shared about Jesus in his hometown, he rose up as his custom was, amen, to read the prescribed portion, the Torah reading for that Shabbat. He got up, he read, and then he read Isaiah where it says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me", amen, "to anoint me, to preach good news to the poor, to heal the broken heart".

You see, before you heal diseases, number one is heal the broken heart. It starts from there, amen. So, for three, four weeks now, we have touched on, for only a month, we have touched on healing. I want to go further and talk about how you can prosper and prosper in all things. Is that okay? Is that all right? First of all, pray that you will prosper. Notice that some people think this is automatic. "I pray that you may prosper in all things", not just in small things, in a few things, in your career. No, in all things. In your family life, how many want to prosper in your family life? All right, in all things, amen? "And be in health just as your soul prospers".

Now obviously, the one that John is writing to, and don't forget, even the personal request or personal prayer of things that God wants us to learn, God the Holy Spirit put this in the holy Scriptures for us to learn that this is God's desire for us, this is a pattern prayer, amen. He's praying for Gaius, all right, John is writing to him and saying, "I'm praying for you. Your soul is prospering, Gaius, but I look at you, you're struggling financially, you're struggling here and there, and it seems like your soul prosperity has not translated into your outward affairs. And I see you're always down with something, you're always down with certain kind of physical affliction and all that. Gaius, my beloved, someone I love, I pray that you prosper just as your soul prospers in everything just as your is already prospering. Your soul is prospering, but I pray that your outward circumstances will line up with your inside. I pray that you'll be in health, even as your soul is prospering, your soul is healthy. Oh, your soul is so healthy, but I pray you be in health even as your soul prospers".

So, you know what? It's possible that your soul is prospering but it's not translating. It's possible that your soul is prospering but it's not translating into your outward circumstances, into your family life, you know? And the answer is prayer. Pray that your inside be translated into the manifestation of prosperity and all things outside. Pray that your soul prosperity, all right, be translated into bodily health. Can I have a good amen?

Today we focus on prosper in all respects. Y'all know straightaway that I'll be remiss, I'll be out of my, and it is not something that I planned purposely because something happened. No, no, no, our church is doing well. All right, something I talked about months ago. In fact, I remember starting this series I'll touch on prosperity, but I felt that I want to touch on healing first, but I'll touch on prosperity, right? Amen.

So, our church is prospering, don't worry. All right, so let me assure those of you who think that we are after your money, all right, hold your purse tightly, all right? Zip up your wallet, okay? We don't want your money, okay? We are talking to people who want to learn from the Lord the ways of the Lord, amen? And I'll be remiss, I'll be lying to you. I won't be doing my duty if I don't tell you about tithing. Everyone that has prospered in the kingdom of God understands the principle of tithing, amen.

So, let's go through the Scriptures and then you decide for yourself. Number one, it's not for everybody. So rest, sit tight. Okay, don't forget, it's not for you, all right? But this is once in a while, I don't often preach on tithing, but if I tell you this, all right, right now, I'm telling you, it's not for everybody, breathe.

Okay, let's go right to the Word in Genesis 14. All right, "Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine", that's communion, "and he was the priest of God Most High". First time "God Most High" appears. "And he blessed Abram and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth'". Don't forget in the Book of Hebrews, they likened Melchizedek, this Melchizedek, this priest, as the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the current, present priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ and he blessed him. And he blessed God also. "Blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand". And Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe of, how many things? All, of all.

This whole story, this event happened about 400 years before God gave the Ten Commandments, before the commandments on tithing under the Levitical priesthood was given. So, people who say, right, there's no tithing under grace, ought to read this story, amen. And there are other things that even grace teaches who tell, it's a very funny thing, you know? People who don't believe in grace, for example, all right, who don't believe, you know, the message of grace, they will tell you, "We are no longer under law, therefore we don't have to tithe". But this is not under the law, this is Melchizedek.

Is Jesus our Melchizedek today? Yes, for those who know, that's why it's deep teaching. It's not for everybody. I'm sorry to tell those who came today, all right, tell your relatives and friends don't have to come for next service and all that. It's for the select few. I tell you why it's for the select few. All right, show them Hebrews 5, Hebrews 5. Okay, "Jesus is called by God as High Priest 'according to the order of Melchizedek,' of whom". This Melchizedek we have much to say, "We have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food".

So, Melchizedek, teaching of Melchizedek is solid food, whoa. You don't understand tithing, never mind. I don't condemn babies, you understand, all right? You don't slap babies, amen. You don't pinch their bottom because they cannot take your sirloin steak. Okay, Lawrence, don't forget that. Lawrence has a baby now, you know, you cannot do that. Just be patient, they will grow, amen. You cannot insist on babies tithing because tithing is tied up with the Melchizedek priesthood. In fact, after chapter 5, chapter 6 it talks about the foundations and then chapter 7, he talks about the tithing. I'll come to it, okay, about Melchizedek and the tithing. Not even communion, but tithing. Are you listening, okay?

So, in other words, tithing and Melchizedek priesthood, tied up in Melchizedek priesthood, there are many things to talk about but people are dull of hearing, amen? So, they cannot receive it. So, I always tell pastors when you teach tithing, do not insist on everyone receiving the revelation because I read for myself, they don't, okay?

Now, let me show you Hebrews 7, all right, Hebrews, same book, Hebrews 7, "For this Melchizedek king of Salem". Now, king of Salem. Salem is where you got shalom, where you get Jerusalem. In fact, it's the king of Jerusalem. This is what Jerusalem before Jesus conquered it from the Jebusites, sorry, David conquered from Jebusites. Now, king of Salem, Melchizedek. He's the king of wholeness. Shalom is wholeness, peace, completeness, priest of the most high God. Now, this most high God has consistently been repeated. Have you noticed that?

So, the Holy Spirit is endeavoring to tell us something. "Who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed Abraham, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, a tenth part of all, Abraham gave a tenth part of all". It didn't even mention communion that Melchizedek brought bread and wine, which he did, but he mentioned where he zeroed it on to the, the tenth part of all. Do you see that? So, it's tied up with the previous chapters that says that, "We have many things to say but it's hard for you to understand". But then he tried, okay, to explain and that's why people stumble. They stumble at the very thing. Don't expect the people of the world who are not even babies yet, who don't even drink milk to understand tithing.

Now, I want to tell you something about Abram. Now, go to Genesis version, Genesis 14, "He gave him a tithe of all". This is a Hebrew word for tithe. I'm gonna share with you some things that I have shared before but it behooves us to share again because it's revelation, people. Revelation never grows old. The word "tithe" is maaser, maaser, reading from right to left, mem, ayin, shin, resh, maaser, all right? Mem, the first letter, makes it a noun, okay, mem, maaser, maaser. If you remove, this is tithe, the word "tithe". You remove the mem, the first letter, you have aser, aser is rich. So, the rich is in the tithe.

In fact, go back to Genesis 14 where it says, "Abram gave him a tithe of all", you drop down three verses it says last verse, verse 23, "Abram told the king of Sodom, 'I have raised my hand to the Lord.'" It's very interesting, when you tithe to the Lord, it's like you have raised your hand to the Lord, okay? And he says, "I'll take nothing from a thread to a sandal strap of yours. I will not take anything that's yours, lest you should say, 'I made Abram aser, rich'".

See the word "rich" there? This is the first occurrence of the word "rich" in the Bible. Abraham knew that he's gonna become rich. "Pastor Prince, I thought he was quite rich by now". Now, I'm gonna use an expression right now because I don't have time to break this down, okay? That's not my object here, my objective here. Abraham, when he came out of Egypt, he came out from, you know, went down to Egypt, right? When he came out of Egypt, the Bible says he was, listen carefully, the Hebrew doesn't say he's rich. The Hebrew says he was loaded with silver and gold. He was loaded.

Today we say rich people, we say, they are loaded, right? But, you know, it's one thing to be loaded and it's the word "heavy". In the Hebrew, it's not the word "aser". Aser appears here for the first time but when Abram says, "I don't want you to say I made Abram rich", he's talking about the future. He knew he was gonna be rich. It's one thing to be loaded with money, it's another thing to be rich with money and everything. It's a different thing all together, you know? There are people who are loaded and that's how they live life, loaded, depressed, worried about how their money, you know, their competitors, they're afraid they have to be on their toes all the time.

You are loaded, but you're not rich. And rich will include money as well, because he refused to take a shoelace from the king of Sodom, "Lest you say I made Abram rich". So, he didn't want the glory to go to the king of Sodom, he wants the glory to go to Melchizedek, to God, to Jesus. Mmm, very interesting, right? Now, there's a principle in Romans chapter 11, verse 16. "If the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches". So, the principle is very... you know what's holy? People have this idea of holiness as your clothes and all that. Holiness means separated unto. You know, like your ladies, your diamonds, your gold, your Birkin bag, your Hermes bags and all that you put in a special corner, you know, no one can touch it, right?

"I don't know what you're talking about, Pastor Prince". Okay, never mind, all right. That means they are holy. Actually, if it's a Greek person talking to you they will say, "It's sanctified, it is separated from the other storage places that you have". It's separated because it's special, amen? So, God is saying, if your first fruit - the principle is general principle, whatever it is - if the first fruit is holy, in this talking about Israel. If Israel is set apart to God, all the nations will be set apart. But Israel failed, okay, the history tells us Israel failed, amen? God's idea is to bless all the nations.

See, the principle of the tithe, can you see it? Scientists tell us, we use one-tenth of our brain so give it to God and then your nine-tenth will come alive. Are y'all listening? Go back to Hebrews 7, I'm gonna bring this to a close. All right, Hebrews 7 drop down. "Now consider how great this man was, Melchizedek, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils". Number-one reason for giving tithe is not you become rich, it's to a proclamation of how great Jesus is. You receive the communion is to proclaim his death. You do proclaim the Lord's death, amen? When you tithe, you proclaim he's alive, amen? And drop down to verse 6 because of time, verse 6. "But he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better". Drop down, "Here mortal men receives tithes". In those days when they tithe, they tithe to the temple, right, the storehouse? We have seen the principle. Where does the tithe go? The tithe doesn't go number of places. The tithe goes to the storehouse in Malachi. Jacob says, "Of all that you give me, I'll give a tenth". Where did that happen? At Bethel, the house of God. The principle is always the same, amen, the local storehouse, amen. Here, mortal men receives tithes but there, Jesus receives them, very clear. And in the Greek, you want to argue in Greek, Greek is all present tense. "Here mortal man receive tithes, there Jesus receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives", amen.

Remember the story of Jacob when Joseph sent all the wagons to fetch his father, amen, to Egypt? The sons came back and says, "Joseph is the viceroy of Egypt, he rules the land. He rules the land. He's the right hand man. Your son Jacob, our brother, he is ruler over Egypt". And the Bible says Jacob did not believe. And let's go to the story real quick, all right? "And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not. Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not". Drop down. "And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: When he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived". Talk about revival. It happened when he saw the blessings.

"And Israel said", notice the name change, Verse 26 says Jacob's heart fainted, right? "Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not". Drop down, "and Israel said". The moment you believe, same person, Israel is Jacob, Jacob is Israel but the moment he believed, the Holy Spirit used the name that God gave him. Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is alive", Hallelujah. And go back to Hebrews. It says that, "Of whom it is witnessed that he lives". So, the communion is to proclaim the Lord's death, okay? But the tithe that you give is a witness that he's alive. You don't tithe to a dead person. Are you listening?

Now, I want to close with this promise. Now, I shouldn't be saying closing, okay, 'cause I'll be saying a few things here. "He was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him", You see that? "He was still in the loins of his father when"... Sorry, "Even Levi who received tithes, paid tithes". Who is Levi? Levi is the great grandson, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi. Levi paid tithes through Abraham. What's this? He was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. In other words, in God's mind, God says, when you tithe, you bless your generations. Levi didn't even exist but Levi was in Abraham. When Abraham met Jesus and he tithed, it was as good as Jacob tithed, it was as good as Levi tithed.

And that's why the Jewish people today, even though a minority race, all right, some of them are the wealthiest in the world. Some of the them don't tithe but the great grandfather tithed. Their grandfather tithed and they are blessed as a result, all right? Ezekiel 44, this is what I'm gonna close with. Ezekiel 44, the best of all first fruits of any kind, every sacrifice of any kind, okay, look at the last line because of time. To 'cause, all right, you shall give to the priest, shall be the priest. "You shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house". So, who is the priest today? Jesus. Any pastor that tells you they are the priest and you're to tithe to them, nah, with all due respect to the pastors, okay? We are priesthood ministry, yes, we have priests, but we not the ones you tithe to. Can I have a good amen? The best of all first fruits to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

Now, you might argue, "Well, Pastor Prince, this is referring to the Old Testament". I'm so glad you mentioned that because I'll close with this, this chapter is chapter, what? Forty-four, right? Ezekiel predominantly is all about prophesy of the future. Ezekiel lived during the time of the captivity of Babylon, all right, in the Old Testament, but he foresaw the feature. He foresaw our times, why? What chapter is this, 44? Go to the very first part of the chapter. "God brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east", eastern gate, "but it was shut. And the Lord said to me, 'This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.'"

It's a proclamation when Jesus rode on the donkey and he went into Israel on Palm Sunday. He went through the eastern gate and God calls him the Lord God has entered by it, the Lord God of Israel has entered by it. And as a result from then on, all right, about 500 years after that, it was shut. Until today, it is shut. It was shut by the Byzantine emperor then later on 1500 years later, it was shut by Solomon the Great, okay? It's a picture of the eastern gate. Unto today, it is shut. You have gone through Damascus Gate, it's not shut, amen? This is shut. Unto today, it's shut. It's a prophecy of our times.

Go back again to Ezekiel. Go back to Ezekiel. Go back to Ezekiel first part, all right? It says that at that time, it wasn't shut. Ezekiel's time, it wasn't shut. Who's time is he referring to, Jesus time? No, it wasn't shut. Jesus went through it. The Lord God of Israel went through it. Who's time is it? Our time, it is shut and during this chapter, our time, when you give your tithe, God will cause a blessing to rest on your house. I rest my case, amen? Praise the Lord.