Joseph Prince - Inherit God's Promises By Faith, Not by Works
You know, I believe that many a times, the Word of God tells us that by the foolishness of preaching, to save, and the Greek word to save means to bless, to heal, to protect, to preserve, to prosper. I want to say something about prosperity. I think the way that prosperity is taught today is really dangerous because it's materialistic. You know, we forget that God prospers us so that we can be a blessing, so that we can send the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the four corners of the earth, amen?
And I believe that God wants to bless you but make sure you don't become self-centered, I centered, you know, me, my wife, and little Jiminy, give me, give me, give me, you know? It is blessings of provisions for a purpose. But nonetheless when you preach the gospel, hearesth, it has pleased God. The Bible says it's God's system. It's heaven's delivery system that by the foolishness of preaching, thank God, not by the foolishness of preachers, but by the foolishness of preaching to save, to heal, to bless, to preserve those who believe. I believe that you cannot psych your way out of fear, anxiety, and worry, but you can listen your way out of fear, worry, and anxiety, amen?
So, whatever you're down the devil says don't go to church today and all that, you know, that's the very day you need to go because you will hear something that will change your life. Like I said last week, sometimes, you know, your children will say, "You know, I don't feel like going to, you know, Varsity Ministry today. I don't feel like going to Dare. I don't feel like going to". Dare, all these are our youth ministries. And just compel them to go, all right? You might say, "Well, I'm being legalistic". No, no, no, they need you to be strong on what is right, amen? Because when they are there, they will hear something that otherwise they will not hear. And then, you know, if you bring up your child in the right way, amen, when they are old, they will not turn away from it. Can I have a good amen, church?
So, even though they are not registering any response, be patient, I've seen so many of them turn around and when they turn around, boy, do they turn around, amen? So, the Bible tells us the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. So, the law, for 1,500 years, was given by God on Mount Sinai and not a single person could keep it. Jesus came on, and when Jesus came, Jesus actually brought, in the Sermon on the Mount, brought the law back into his pristine glory because the Pharisees brought it down to where it was manageable. And the Lord says, it's not about physically sleeping with somebody when God says, thou shall not commit adultery, but if you undress a woman in your mind, you have committed adultery.
So, the Lord actually brought the law back to its pristine glory. If you hate somebody in your heart, you don't have to murder someone, you hate somebody, you are guilty of murder. You see, he brought it inwards where everyone is guilty. Now, did he do it to make us guilty, just guilty and leave us there? No, he did like a good surgeon, a physician to remove the problem so that we all see our need for a Savior. Some people don't see how desperate they are, amen? Some people are so strong, they don't see, you know, you cannot save a drowning man as long as there's still strength in him. He will pull you down, amen? You can only save a drowning person if the person is completely exhausted, amen, then you are ready to be saved. Can I have a good amen?
So, the Bible tells us the law, and a lot of believers think that, "Well, we need to amalgamate the two, you know, it's okay to have both you know". It's not. The law and faith are both not... it's like oil, they cannot mix. It's like oil and water. The law demands, grace supplies. The law demands righteousness, grace supplies righteousness, amen. Under law, the unclean touching the clean like Ebola virus. The unclean touching the clean makes the clean unclean. Under law, uncleanness is contagious. Under grace, the Lord Jesus went down the sermon, after the Sermon on the Mount, he went down the mount and the Bible tells a leper came and it was a leper. And he says, "Lord, if you'll willing, you can make me clean". The Lord touched him and the unclean became clean. Now, clean, cleanness is contagious under grace. What the law of Moses cannot do, Moses was a servant, grace, through God's Son, did.
Now, you can only be either under one. You cannot be under demand and supply, grace is supply. You cannot be under both. So, if you live our life like you're always demand minded. "My wife wants me to do this. My kids demand this of me of their father. You know, I demand this of myself". And you are demanding, demanding, you'll be burned out, you'll be depressed, you'll be worried, you have no joy. God doesn't want you to live like that. God wants you to be live in the consciousness of supply. Even you do, you don't see it manifest, know that God is supplying you even now. Can I have a good amen, people?
Look at the law, what the law disqualified. The law disqualifies you. Look at how he disqualifies in Numbers. In Numbers it says, "The Lord spoke to Moses", Numbers 5, verse 1, "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse'". You see, straightaway they are put out of the camp, all right? Everyone who is a leper, everyone who has a discharge or a corpse. Remember when the Lord Jesus came? In one chapter alone, in one chapter, the Bible tells us he was walking in Capernaum and my pastors and I have been there in Capernaum the very road where he walked.
One day we had an occasion whereby the gate was open. Usually visitors don't go there. It was the year of the open door, and the gate was open and we walked through. And somewhere there in Capernaum, that same old road, a woman came. The Lord Jesus was on his way to raise Jairus's daughter, a religious ruler's daughter from the dead. A woman came and touched, amen, Jesus's garments. Actually, it was his prayer shawl, the Tallit, the blue tassel, the tekhelet they call it in Hebrew. She touched it and she was healed because she had been suffering from a discharge. She was bleeding for 12 years. She was bleeding for 12 years, went to many doctors and grew worse, actually, the Bible tells us. Now she spent all her money on doctors. She's poor, she's poor, sick, and broke.
So, she touched the blue tassel of the Lord Jesus and she was healed completely. Then the Lord turned, the Lord said to her, "Your faith has made you well". He's so gracious every time, even though his power is involved, he will give you credit. He will say, "Your faith". And what is faith? Faith is not obedience to the law, the Ten Commandments. No, that woman actually broke the law because when she's bleeding in Jewish law, you cannot be out in public. So, all her life, she's unclean. So, in a sense, you can actually argue she broke the law, the Jewish law, for her to be where Jesus was. So, the Lord did not say, "Your law keeping has made you well". "Your faith has made you well", amen. "How you see me has made you well", the Lord Jesus said.
And then after that because of that slight delay, a messenger came from Jairus's house, "Don't bother the Master. I'm sorry to say your daughter has died. The 12-year-old girl is dead". The Lord Jesus went in, and y'all know the story, he raised her from the dead. I just told you three miracles that this verse disqualifies. Jesus cleansed the leper. What'd he do with the leper? He cleansed the leper. What did he do with the discharge? He staunched discharge. What did he do with the dead corpse? He raised her, Hallelujah! Amen, through Jesus, you are qualified. Through our Lord Jesus, healing, health, blessings, are contagious. Under grace, your health, your blessings are contagious. Can I have a good amen?
You walk around people that have got a lot of God's favor, amen, the favor of God comes on you. For example, even you're not a smoker, you spend time in the company of smokers. You go home, your wife says, "Have you been smoking or what"? You smell smoke, amen? You understand what I'm saying? So, same for the favor of God. Go where the favor of God is, amen? And this verse tells us very clearly that the Lord Jesus reversed all this through his grace and that's why the Apostle Paul, when he preached the gospel, this is what he said in Pisidia Antioch. This is what he said in the synagogue when he preached. He says in Acts 13, "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man, the Lord Jesus, is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses".
Can you see that? People, when you believe in Christ, you are made righteous. In Bible language, you are justified, justified. All right, someone says, "Justified, just if I'd never sinned". That's how God sees you. It's not that you don't sin, just if I'd never sinned. Justified, you are justified. Turn to your neighbor and say, "You are justified". All right, hopefully your neighbor is a believer, amen? And the thing is this, why is this important? Why is the devil so afraid for the true gospel?
He doesn't mind Christianity being preached as a religion, amen. You know, but he minds when you take away the cobwebs of human tradition and religion of Christianity and you dust off the gospel and you say, "My goodness, this is what shook the earth 2,000 years ago", amen, and brought the Roman Empire down, you know, and brought the right honest government up. Even changed man from the inside out and then even their country. Everywhere the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has gone these past 2,000 years, that country becomes civilized, that country becomes prosperous, the people are regard women with dignity and respect, chivalry comes in all because... and there's a burst of innovative ideas. Men become creative. They start drawing based on religious, you know, based on Bible stories. They write music, classical music based on Bible stories, based on God's glory. Men become creative. And, you know, we forget that all this is traced back to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, the devil doesn't want the gospel to go to anyone because in he knows affect one person, you're gonna affect the family. You affect the family, grace is contagious, gonna affect families. Affect the families, it's gonna affect the country. You affect the country, you're gonna affect the world. He rather you have a religion that says, "Don't come near me, I'm more holier than you. You are doing this, you are dirty, don't come near me, you know? We are against people who do this. We are against people who do that. We are against people who do this". I don't find the Lord Jesus doing that. And there were people like this when he was walking on the earth. He didn't go around saying, "You know, we don't... I'm gonna heal y'all".
Imagine on the mountainside. The Bible says the multitudes came to the Lord Jesus and as many of touched him, they were all healed. He didn't say, "Before you touch me, ah, have you done this or not? Have you done that or not? Are you this, are you this kind of person"? No, everyone who touched got healed. You know why? Because the Lord knows that grace will change whatever needs changing. So, the devil does not want this to go up, the Word of the gospel, all right, all over the world but it's going around the world, amen?
And like I said, the devil does not mind Christianity being a religion. Christian religion will all be about what you do, what you don't do, how you dress, how you don't dress, better dress. You know but, you know? Yeah, it's all about you. Don't focus on the beauty of the Lord Jesus. Don't ever talk about how lovely he is. Don't talk about how he will leave the 99 sheep to find that one lost sheep. And no shepherd does that for only one shepherd, our Lord Jesus. He will leave the 99 to find the one that's lost, amen. Don't talk about that. Don't talk about him, talk about us, what we need to do. Talk about what we must not do and what we need to do, all right?
So, if anyone preaches about the Lord Jesus, "Oh, they're compromising. They're not for holiness and all that". But what is holiness? Holiness is loving the altogether lovely one, our Savior. Amen, to love him is true holiness because, like I said, you can do things, you can keep the Ten Commandments or one of the Ten Commandments is, "Thou shall not commit adultery". All right, you can actually keep that and not love your wife. You can actually keep that and have no love for your wife. Is that keeping it? No. What the Lord does, grace does. It fills your heart with love, joy, and peace, amen?
And you start doing things that nobody else knows but, you know, the Lord knows but because it's all within. Your motivation, no one can see. One person is doing the same thing as the other person but one person's doing it out of love, joy, and peace. Two persons can be serving in the church, one is doing it for love of the Lord, another person wanting to be seen or to promote his products or whatever. People do that sometimes, you know? So, that's not the thing, people. Grace changes from inside out. It's not about behavior modification, amen, it's about inward transformation. Hallelujah!
And now comes the clean shirt off of someone I'm trying to bring across here that it's the theme for this sermon. It's got to do, being under grace has got to do about inheritance, God's inheritance. That's why the devil does not want anyone to understand about grace, amen? Anyone who preaches grace, he will raise other preachers to say, "Well, this guy's compromising, this guy's compromising because he does not want the true gospel preached". This is why. Romans 4:13, "For the promise that Abraham would be the heir of the world". Wow, what's the promise to Abraham? What did God promise father Abraham? That he'll be the heir of the world. Can I hear a wow somewhere? I mean, y'all like okay, heir of the world is like, okay. I think your wow will come here. It's Abraham, it's just Abraham, but it's you as well.
Look at it, "For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed". Who is Abraham's seed? Primarily it's Christ. Christ came from the line of Abraham. But watch this, Galatians 3, "If you are Christ's, if you are Christ's, if you are Christ's, if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise". So people, listen, God wants you to inherit because you're a son. You know, a son inherits from his father regardless of merit. He can be a good son, a bad son, but he will get the inheritance. He can be a tidy son, an untidy son, a son who is meticulous, a son who is careless, regardless of merit, he'll receive heir to inherit, or to be an heir means you inherit by position by the fact that you're a son and not because of anything you do. Are you listening, people?
And it's not heir apparent? Heir apparent means one day when your father dies or whatever, all right, you'll be an heir. Or Prince Charles right now is the heir apparent. He's not the king yet, right? He's the heir apparent because there is a queen ruling. But this is not what the Bible says. We're not heir apparents. We are heirs. You know why? Because the Lord Jesus has already died at the cross. He left us everything, amen. We are heirs and we inherit effortlessly.
And I tell you, people, when God start blessing you, it's very hard to explain sometime because you don't want to be, you know you don't want, "Oh man", you know, but God still blesses you. You inherit effortlessly whereas the curse was God told Adam after he sinned, by the sweat, by stress, you will earn your bread. But those who are heirs, it's not by the sweat of their face they receive. They receive because they are heirs, because they're sons. So, let's go back to Romans 4:13, "For the promise that Abraham would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed".
Now we see we're in Christ so we're also Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. So, this promise, how will it come? How will it manifest? How will it take effect in our lives? That's the big question because, number one, let me establish real fast that to be the heir of the world, if you want to be the heir of the world, you cannot be sick all the time flat on your back. So, in other words, heir of the world is the big picture, the big promise, but the big promise always includes the lesser which is health, healing, wholeness. Is it there? Yes, amen.
Then the next thing is about being the heir of the world is this, can you be the heir of the world and you're always borrowing money, you're always needy, you're always broke? Can you be the heir of the world? No, you can't, amen? No, neither am I talking about people who are rich, but they claim by their efforts. I don't believe there's anything like that. I believe that even God is involved, God's grace is involved in that. But if they claim they're a self-made man, okay, I'm not talking about them here because if you self-made that, you gotta maintain by self what you made and it's frustrating and stressful to maintain what you produce. But if God gives it to you, all right, it's God's, God keeps it. If God gives you, God keeps it, not me.
I tell you, church, if God takes away everything, you know, from my life tomorrow and, of course, my family is still with me and all that, all right, as long as I have the Lord and my family, I'm a happy man because in the first place, I never even had a family when I began. I only had God, you know, as a teenage boy, a very troubled teenage boy, I was only had the Lord, amen. So, he gave me everything. How can I ever, ever, ever, you know, be angry or be disappointed with the Lord if the Lord takes away something. No, of course not, but he's not the type that gives and then takes.
"Well, Pastor Prince, the Bible says, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. Blessed be the name of the Lord". Hey friend, God didn't say that. Then, "It's in the Bible". Yeah, but somebody, you know what the devil, "lies are in the Bible"? What the devil said is also in the Bible. The entire Bible is God breathed but God records faithfully. Even lies, words that are lies are also in the Bible.
So, you know who said the Lord gives and the Lord takes? Job, Job was suffering at the time and Job says, "The Lord gives, the Lord takes". But we read chapter 1 of Job, it was Satan who came and took but we read the last chapter of Job, the Lord restored even what he didn't take. So, God is a good God. So, whatever your joy, your blessing, your health, whatever the devil is trying to take, is not God. You must know God is on your side. God wants to heal your body and because you are here today, you are listening to God's Word, hey friend, God is for you, amen. Amen, amen, amen, amen, praise the Lord. Isn't God good?
All right, let's go on. So, he says, this promise, how do you inherit it? How do you inherit it? So, the church says, by the way, the ultimate inheritance will be when the seed of Abraham, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, God's own Son, the Son of God came as a man, but he came as Abraham's seed. In terms of the genealogy, he came as Abraham's seed, but he's the Son of the living God. So, God planted the seed there, the triune God, the second person, the Godhead, took off his robes and came down as a baby. That is condescension, wonderful grace that he would humble himself. It's like you, a CEO, throw away your jacket everything and become an ant to live among the ant. Even that doesn't describe it clearly.
So, he lived amongst as Abraham's seed. And I'll tell you this, the Bible tells that one day this world will come into his hand. Everything that's happening, all right, the Lord Jesus Christ is gonna rule the earth. So, the Lord, the Bible tells us he's gonna allow one dominion of another. We see these in Daniel's prophecy. He saw the Babylonians, then he sees the Medo-Persians, then he sees Alexander the Great in the vision even before he existed. And then the Roman Empire of which the Lord Jesus came at that time. And then right at the end our time, there'll be ten most likely European, you know, dominions in Europe and out it will come the Antichrist who promised the first peace, but it's a false peace and all that, and will try to destroy Israel, but the Lord Jesus Christ will return.
And it's amazing the Bible prophesied, you know, 2,000 years ago, Israel was out of their land and for this fulfillment, Israel must be back in the land and they are back in the land since 1948. But the whole world dominion will come back to the hand of the Lord but meanwhile, the Lord wants you to inherit wherever you are. He wants you to inherit health. He wants you to inherit peace of mind, which is more important than health. I'm telling you, a lot of people health is the most important, actually it's peace of mind because you can have health today, no peace of mind, tomorrow your health goes, all right? Peace of mind, amen, tranquility, then health, wholeness, good relationships.
Now, you might have problems in your body but don't believe that you can never be healed. It might be a chronic problem, hey, you're getting better. You're getting stronger. The Lord is healing you. God is into the healing business, amen? I never see one time in the Bible. You want to see God, see the Bible Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, see Jesus. The Lord Jesus says, "He who seen me has seen the Father".
And I never see one time... I see him healing all the time, cleansing the leper, raising the dead, unstopping deaf ears, opening the eyes of the blind, casting out devils. I never seen him one time coming to a person and saying, "You are too clean. You are too nice complex. Come here, let me give you some leprosy. I'm doing this to teach you a lesson, something divine, mystical, terrestrial that you don't understand now but I'm doing this so that you understand one day". No, no, no, no all right, something in us, when our child is sick, we want the child to be well, amen? And God put it there. So, if you're suffering, let me tell you this, do not give up. Do not give up, all right?
I just heard a testimony of communion of a Taiwanese church, one of the father's 86 years old was given up for dead but the son went and just put some, you know, grape juice on his lips, and put some crackers on his lips and all that, and that's the faith level they have. The father is now out. And one day we'll show you the blow-by-blow account by what happened in this Taiwanese church. In fact, we have some of them, the pastors here. Wave, are you the one? Oh, welcome, welcome. And this testimony of the 86-year-old man came from your church? True story of a man that... your first time to a New Creation Church? Welcome, welcome. Beautiful, beautiful testimony, amen. And one of these days we'll share with you the testimony, all right? But again, don't give up.
Imagine if they had believed, "Oh God wants, you know, him dead. He's 86 years old so you must, you know, give up". It's your faith. "According to your faith, be it unto you", the Lord Jesus said, amen? So, back to this again. How does it come? How does it come, "The promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed", that's where you and I come in, "through the law, but through the righteousness of faith". It is not through your obedience. It is not through your law keeping. It is through the righteousness of faith. And how is the church trying to get this promise? How are they trying to inherit all these blessings? By trying to keep the law, by trying to be obedient, but the Bible says, no one can keep the law. When you come under the law, you become guilty straightaway. You break one of the Ten Commandments, James says, you are guilty of all, amen. The moment you stand on the ground of the law, you are cursed, amen, don't even attempt to. When you live by grace, you become holy by accident, amen.
So, here the Bible tells very clearly. I've been preaching this a number of years now but the thing is that I wonder, how come people don't read their Bibles? We still hear, "If you want God to give you peace of mind, if you want to have blessings on your family, your children, if you want God to favor you and all that, make sure you're obedient". So, basically what they're saying, make sure you are keeping the law.
Now, I believe in obedience but something is wrong when you are harping on obedience, obedience all the time. Most likely you're not obedient. When you think you're obedient, all right, for example, God says be humble, all right? Then you say, "Boy, I want to obey God. I'm gonna be humble". Yes, first of all your posture change. You ever see that kind of humility? It stinks, you know, it's fake. It's of the flesh. "You know, yeah, it's okay. You know, it's nothing. You know, it's just". Then they write a book and then they are wondering whether to put their face on the book or not and the book title is "Humility and How I Achieved It".
So, I'm telling you, there's a lot of this kind of pseudo holiness out there that passes of as, you know? But the problem is that many times in the pulpit, they are preaching things that they themselves don't live and expect the pew to follow. No, people, we gotta be real. We gotta be real. Yes, I love my wife. I'll tell you right now in the name of the Lord Jesus and I'm speaking this categorically, I'm speaking this by the grace of God. I'm Joseph Prince and I'm telling you that I have never, never bodily slept in adultery with another woman ever, never. Okay some people think, "Oh, you preach grace because you have something to, you know, your background". Never. By the grace of God.
I gotta be careful. I'm depending on God's grace and not Joseph Prince strength or else the very next day you'll fall, okay, take heed. Never presume on your own strength, all right? So, the thing is this, how is it by the blessings come on us? By Keeping the law? Did Abraham receive it, receive blessings? By the way, Abraham, the Bible says that at the end of his life, the Lord blessed Abraham in all things. When he go to war, he had victory. The Bible even say Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold, that's in the Bible. The Bible says he had wonderful relationship with his wife in their old age, in their old age. He was about a hundred years old and she was about ninety years old, they brought forth the promised son.
So, it includes the renewal of youth and strength in their old age. That's being the heir of the world. God blessed them. Man cannot produce it. Doctors do their best but they're limited by what medicine knows, by what they know, amen. But God is unlimited. And I thank God for doctors because without them, you know, many believers will not be alive today to believe God so they are fighting the same enemy as God, disease, okay?
So, here we go, the Bible clearly says it's not through the law, and Abraham did not get blessed because of law keeping, you know why? Very simple reason. This is so profound, so simple, you'll be shocked. The law, the Ten Commandments, has not yet existed during Abraham's time. Abraham lived 400 over years before the Ten Commandments was given on Mount Sinai and Charlton Heston went up... sorry, Moses went up there to take it. That was about 400 over years, people, 400 over years before was the story of Abraham. And God called Abraham, "My friend". He's a friend of God and yet he doesn't know the Ten Commandments. But did he walk in holiness? Yes. Was he close with God? Oh, yes. But it was not through law keeping.
In fact, Abraham lied twice about his wife. Remember that? His wife, God renewed her youth. This is the blessing of Abraham, watch it. I don't want to preach to y'all this kind of thing because your wife might become beautiful when the blessing of Abraham comes on you. You know, and God renewed her youth so much that an Egyptian at one time wanted her when she was about 65 years old, 65. And then later on, all right, Abimelech, the king of the Philistines wanted Sarah when she was already pregnant and 90 years old, 90 y'all, 90 years old woman! This guy blind or what? But anyway, and most of these heathen kings, they have a beautiful harem of women. They already have the pick of the crop and yet no, God renewed Sarah's youth to be able to conceive a baby at 90 years old.
So physically, she was changed so much so that a heathen king, these people don't go by spiritual discernment. "I spiritually discern that you are beautiful on the inside". No, no, no, these people, these heathen king go by eyeballs, y'all, eyeballs. Looked at her, wanted her and told Abraham, all right, "We want this woman". And Abraham says, "Yes, go ahead. She's my sister". So again, back to this. How did Abraham inherit the world, because of his law keeping? Well, one of the Ten Commandments says, "Thou shall not bear false witness".
Now, having said that, let me just tell you this, I hate lying and... almost say cannot tolerate. Of course, God want me to tolerate everybody, but I really cannot tolerate people that tell lies. My wife knows that. You can do a lot of things to me and all that, but don't, don't lie. Don't lie in our relationship, amen, because when you lie, it crumbles, everything crumbles. Whatever you say from henceforth, you know, I will take two steps back and view it differently. It makes me cynical, you know what I'm saying?
So, don't lie. In a marriage situation, a lot of things can be tolerated, I tell my wife, but don't lie. And she knows that from years ago already. Once in a while she says, "You're the most handsome man". That lie I don't mind. That bring it on, woman. Bring it on, love you, baby. Mmm, amen? Those lies never mind. That one say, "You're hunk", you know I'll say, man, bring it on, woman. That one I don't mind, all right. But here we see the case is very clear, he lived 400 over years before the Ten Commandments was given and he was a friend of God, yet he was not perfect in his character, yet God says he's righteous.
Now, I'm gonna close. I'm gonna take my time with this series because it will teach you how to inherit, all right? Now, how did he become righteous? This is the crux of the gospel of grace. What chapter is this? Chapter 4, this is verse 13. You understand? "The promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith". So, what is the... so, it is not by his obedience, it's through the righteousness of faith.
"Pastor Prince, what is faith righteousness? If it's not keeping the Ten Commandments, it's not the law, what is faith righteousness"? This is the crux of the gospel. So, this is chapter 4, let's go back. It tells us actually in verse 1, verse 1 says, "What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh"? A better rendition would be, what did Abraham our father in the flesh - he's talking to the Jews now. All right, what did Abraham our father according to the flesh has found? What did Abraham find, in other words? What did Abraham find?
What Abraham found, you must find today because if you find what Abraham found, you will enjoy what Abraham had. You need to find what Abraham found. A lot of believers in church for many years, they are believers for many years but they have not found what Abraham found. You need to find what Abraham found. Abraham found something profound. We need you to find it, okay? "For if Abraham was justified by works, by self effort, by doing good, by morality, if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God". Oh yes, if you are a moral person, you can boast before man but, you know, people only see your outside. They don't see your motivation.
There are people who look moral but they are inwardly very bitter. You know, love, joy, peace is missing. The fruits of the gospel is missing, amen? Only God sees the heart. But the thing is this, was Abraham justified by his morality, by his works, by his efforts, by his good deeds, by his charities, by law keeping? If he did that, he has something to boast about, but not before God. But what saith the Scripture? What does the Bible say? What does the Scripture say? Always remember, it's not what Pastor Prince says. It is what the Scripture says. Abraham believed God. What? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness".
You'll find this in Genesis 15 where God spoke to Abraham in the night sky, all right, and God actually preached the gospel to Abraham. And one of these days, I'll share with you how God did that. God preached the gospel. Abraham heard the same gospel you and I heard about his son, about his seed. And then he believed the same way you and I believe that Christ is the Savior. We cannot save ourselves by morality, by our good works, by our good family name. We can only... we're all sinners. Are you listening, people?
It's like Ebola virus, sin has infiltrated the blood system of everyone that's born in this world since the time of Adam. And you cannot say this person who has Ebola is a bad person. You cannot say that. How can you say that? Ebola, in fact, recently even a child. Amen, good man, rich man, poor man, it cares not. So same thing, sin has infiltrated the blood system of man, but God hates sin, God loves man. So, just like you have someone you love who has cancer, do you love the cancer? No, but the cancer is in your loved one. How do you separate the two? Now, the degree by which you love your loved one is the same degree of hatred you have towards the cancer. Can you understand why God hates sin? Because he loves you. God loves you.
So, a lot of people say, "Wah, God hates sin, God hates sin. Wah, is God a hater"? No, the Bible defines God as God is love. But what is love if love doesn't hate the very thing that destroys the loved one? I'm telling you, if I see my son being attacked by a dog, I'm not gonna stand down there and say, "Love you, doggy, don't bite so hard, hor". That's sick love, you understand people, amen? So, here we go, Abraham believed God. He didn't do anything. God told him the gospel, preached to him the gospel, the Bible says, and Abraham believed God.
Show them Galatians 3, Abraham had the gospel preached to him. The Scripture, "Foreseeing that God would justify, make righteous the Gentiles", that's you and I, non-Jews, "by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed'". You see, who preached the gospel first? God. What's the gospel? Good news. You can receive good you don't deserve because Christ took all the bad that you and I deserve at the cross and put to our account all his goodness, all his righteousness. I'm coming to that.
Go back again to Romans 4. So, verse 4, "Now to him who works, the wages are not counted". Now, we're answering the question, what is the righteousness of faith? Because in verse 13 of this same chapter, it says, "The inheritance comes by righteousness of faith". If we don't establish what's righteousness of faith, all right, we will not be in a position to receive this, inherit this promise. Are you understanding? So, I'm gonna show you right now, blow by blow account and probably we might not be able to go far from this, okay? But look at this, "Now to him who works". If you are working, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt.
So, in other words if you work for something, your boss cannot tell you at the end of the month when he gives you your salary, he says, "By the way, this is my grace", and it's the same salary you've been receiving every month for your work. You say, "Excuse me. Boss, it's same amount. Anything else inside, is there a car key or what"? Now, if your boss gives you a salary, at the same time he says, "By the way, this is a new car, all right, and this is my grace", that's grace. Grace means unearned, unmerited, undeserved favor. And there are many, many voices trying to redefine grace today, all right? But the Bible's grace is unearned, unmerited, undeserved favor. Yes, grace empowers, but only when you receive it as unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor from God, then it empowers you.
Okay, so watch this, if a man works for something, his wages is not counted as grace, but debt, something you owe him, right, right? Do you think God will be indebted to any man? "But to him who does not work, does not put in the effort, his own self-effort, to him who does not work, but believes on God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness". Wow, did you get that? That's the gospel, people. You don't work to be right with God. You rest and believe, the same way for your healing. "Pastor Prince, what must I do? What must I do to be healed"? It's done already. You are 2,000 years too late. It was done for you by the Son of God at the cross, amen?
Now if you want to receive what he's done, rest and believe. Every time you take Communion, sometimes it comes instantaneously, but if it doesn't come, take Communion every day like medicine and believe you're getting better and better and better. When you take, rest and believe. Communion is received, that's why it's not a work. It's receive. We say, "It's time to receive Communion, receive". So, now, I'll tell you why. I've interviewed people, talked to people before and they'll say, "Pastor Prince, I believe I'm the righteousness of God". It's not a matter of saying, "I'm the righteousness of God. Do you have this revelation"? And they say, "But pastor, I still, you know, I see things in myself, I don't have peace with God. The bottom line is that I don't have peace in my heart with God".
Then you talk to them. You say, "Why don't you have peace"? I say, "Do you believe that, are you resting"? "Well, I'm resting as best as I can". Do you believe on God who justifies the ungodly? "Yeah, that's why I'm, you know, I'm doing my best. God knows my heart, I'm doing my best". Wait, wait, wait, wait, the Bible does not say to believe on God who justifies the Godly. I think I see why you don't have peace, you are trying to be Godly for God to justify you. In your mind, you are still trying to be Godly so God can justify you, but God justifies the ungodly but your faith that's counted for righteousness, is a faith that believes God justifies the ungodly. While you're ungodly, when you're still ungodly, you must believe God is justifying you. Abraham believed that even though he has failed, God still justifies him.
"How can a holy God, Pastor Prince, how can a thrice holy God, a God who hates sin, a God who is perfect in holiness, justify, make righteous, the ungodly"? There must be a righteous ground, there must be a righteous foundation for a holy God to make ungodly righteous or else it will put a blot on his holy throne in heaven. How can a holy God justify the ungodly? And yet the Bible says faith righteousness is a righteousness that believes that God justifies the ungodly! Some of you are not listening. You're still acting like God is justifying so, you know, you are trying to be Godly so God will justify you. No wonder there's no peace. It is when you are ungodly.
That's why I'm saying, this is so totally out of the religious realm. It's heavenly truth that I have to bring you line by line or else you say, "Pastor Prince is preaching heresy. I don't know where I heard this from. I mean, this is just crazy, man, it's from his head". You think a head as lovely as this can think of a thought like that. I'm just teasing. You see, you see my wife's praises is having this effect. Anyway, his faith is counted, that's the kind of faith that's counted for righteousness. So, I can tell why people don't have peace. They don't really believe this. So, how can a holy God justify the ungodly? There must be a righteous foundation. Yes, the cross, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's the reason why God sent his Son. God sent his Son so he who knew no sin at the cross became sin with our sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. The divine exchange took place.
In other words, I'm gonna go ahead of myself first so that you understand. Faith is accounted for righteousness just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from his works, apart from his good deeds, apart from his obedience, apart from his charity, apart from his law keeping, apart from his merit. And God imputes righteousness. So, we have the word, "accounted for righteousness". We have the word, "imputes righteousness apart from works". And God says, "What a blessed man that is", talking about you.
Now watch this, I'm gonna talk about the word accounted. His faith is accounted and David talks about God imputes, imputes righteousness. It is same word, same Greek word. It is logizomai. Say logizomai. Now, logizomai, during the time of the Greeks, ancient Greeks, because your New Testament is written in Greek, all right? It was actually used for ancient bookkeeping term. It's a term of calculation. For example, if a man logizomais, he has a thousand dollars in the bank. It is because he has a thousand dollars in the bank or else it is not logizomai, it is assumption, it is opinion. And logizomai has got nothing do with suppositions. It's got to do with facts. So, if a man says he has $1,000 and he logizomai, he calculate, he reckon, he accounts that he has a thousand dollars, it is because he has a thousand dollars or else it's deception.
So, when God says right, God logizomai righteousness to you, what does that mean? Now, the bookkeeping term logizomai means to put something into someone else's account. Write that somewhere, to put something into someone else's account. In other words, I feel for you. I know your bank number. I go to the bank, all right, for some reason you're going through a tough time, and I don't want it to be known that I blessed you, okay? So, I put money, a check into your bank account based on your bank number, okay? I've just put something that belongs to somebody else, me, into someone else's account. That is logizomai. I said, that is logizomai. It is used in his faith is logizomai for righteousness. It is used the man who is blessed to whom God logizomai righteousness apart from works. So, whose account? His Son. Are you listening?
So, at the cross, hallelujah for the cross, at the cross, God calculates, reckons, accounts, imputes, all my sins. And God can see from the day you are born until the day you see your maker face to face, God can see your entire life. God lives outside the time realm because God created time. God, in the Greek, God created chronos. Before time existed, God existed in the emittable time before age began, before time began, before there was a creation. God who is omniscient, seen from the day you are born that blood is tainted with sin until the day you see him. And hopefully you see him in his dwelling, not see him from way, way down there.
There are people who teach like, you know, they get into grace and they say, "Oh, everybody is saved, you know, because of God's grace". No, it's not. There's no one more gracious than our Lord Jesus and he told us there is a place called hell. He says the fire is not quenched and the worms cannot die. Some of these people universally they'll say, "Oh, that's a figurative term". You cannot, you cannot make figurative terms out of the worm that cannot die and the fire cannot be quenched. So, there is a hell. I said, there is a hell or else Jesus' death will just be wasted. If God is God and God say, "Boys will always be boys, never mind, sweep everything under the carpet", then I tell you this, it's all a waste of time. But no, a holy God cannot allow a sinner to enter his presence.
Now, God didn't create man sinners, God created man but man sinned against God and for all have sinned and come short of the glory, but God loves man. Even though the cancer is in the man, God loves man and God has a solution. So, at the cross, this is God's divine plan, his love plan. God wanted a family. God wanted sons. God wanted people to inherit all that he has. That's the nature of love. Love, love, love wants to pour out. Love wants to give. Love wants to sacrifice for the one love so God made man to be loved. Are you listening, people?
A boy one time was asked to go downstairs to buy something for his mother and the boy turned the mother about six years old, seven years old and told the mother, "I know why you and dad had me, so we can serve you all". But that's not true, is it, all right, amen? So, the boy lost the revelation. It's to be loved. And parents don't miss it, you didn't raise your kids for them to study PSLE, to pass PSLE, amen? Love them. If you love them, all right, chances are... even improve their performance. Kids are to be loved.
When I say loved, I don't mean candy, candy, candy, buy, buy toys, buy toys, buy toys, I mean really love them, amen, which means sacrifice, sing, time, T-I-M-E, is how you love your children. Take time, take time, take time. Like this whole year, next year I'm gonna travel, okay, but this whole year I could travel this year also, but I choose to take time because my son is growing up. And I'm the happiest man when on the floor, running around with him playing Thomas. He's happy, I'm happy, you know? I love to hold him and just kiss him, and I love this more than anything else in the world, spending time with my daughter, watching a movie together, I love this. This is what I'm all about, you know, people.
So, for me, it's not being a success at any cost. No, this year, as you can see, as many years y'all been around, those been around for ten years, you see that I'm always here. You must be tired of me, huh, okay? That's not the good lie also, you know, right or not? There's no good lies, only from my wife, ah, praise God. All right, watch this, I'm gonna bring this to a close. Watch this, people, this is important. So, at the cross, do you understand God set all our sins to the Lord Jesus's account? When he hung on the cross, God set all that we deserve, all our sins to his account. He became liable. He became, as it were, the one who did all these sins. No wonder the heavens went dark for three hours.
When he was born, the angels filled the night sky and midnight became midday but now when he's crucified, midday became midnight for three hours. He never, when he walked on the earth, I challenge you to look at it in the gospels, he never one time called his Father, "My God", but at the cross. It's always, "My Father, my Father. Father, I thank you. Father", it's always Father. But at the cross he cried, "My God, my God", so that you and I can cry, "Father, Father", why? God set your position of sinner, of being a sinner and all your sins to his account, then God took his standing and his righteousness and set it to your account so that sinners can call God today "Father".
See, there must be a righteous foundation for God to justify the ungodly but now God's holiness is not violated. God's throne is not blotted. God's awesome, you know, reverence and perfect goodness is not compromised, why? God did not meddle around with sin. God dealt with sin, how? In the body of the sacrifice, his Son. It cost God. Love will always cost you, remember that. And some of you say, "I've been hurt so I'll never love again". Don't do that. It's better to love and be hurt than never to love at all.
See, many of you... I just want to pause here for a while and tell you about heirship. You see, many of you, you're saved. You're not people who don't understand some of these truths. You are saved but, but you're not living like a son. You're like the prodigal son brother, the prodigal son's brother, you know? Remember, a man had two sons, this is a story shared by the Lord Jesus, and the younger one said, "Father, give me what I have, my share". In other words, "I can't wait for you to die, give me now". That was bad. The father gave him, he went to a far country, the Lord Jesus said, and he spent money with riotous living and all kinds of prostitutes. And when his money ran out, his friends ran out. Then he became poor, no one gave to him. He asked for a job. He got a job feeding the pigs.
Now, for a Jew, that is the worst kind of place to be, feeding the pigs. And then he looked around he said, "Oh my goodness, even my father's servants have bread enough and to spare. I know what I'll do, I'll go to my father and I'll say, 'Father, make me a servant'". You see, his heart is not even for his father. In other words, God will take you however you come. He says he want to be a servant so that he can eat what the servants eat. So, from far when he came across the horizon, the father ran towards him. This is amazing. The father didn't wait for him to confess. The father ran towards him. The father embraced him. The father kissed him all over repeatedly. And then the son says, "Father, I've sinned against heaven and earth". And then he was gonna say, "Make me one of your hired servants", because he rehearsed that speech already, but he never got to say it.
How can you say that in the midst of all the kisses and the embrace? It doesn't seem right. He received unmerited, undeserved favor. And the Lord Jesus was sharing this story. So, he came back and the father says, you know, the father brought him back the father said, "Kill the fatted calf. Bring forth the best robe. Put ring on his finger". In those days, the ring will, you know, punch a clay tablet and you pay your credit card in those days. Put ring on his finger. Put shoes on his feet. Under law, God told Moses, "Take off your shoes, the place you're standing is holy". Under grace God says, "Put shoes on his leg. He's my son", all right?
While ungodly, the father embraced him. While ungodly, the father loved him. Meanwhile, they had music and dancing, celebrating the return of the boy, but the oldest son was outside, the older son. I love it, it's the Lord Jesus, I must remind people all the time it's the Lord Jesus who shared this story. And the older son, the Bible tells us, he was angry and would not go in. "Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him". Y'all know who this father is, right? Jesus, our Lord is sharing about his father and the older brother, all the Pharisees and religious leaders because this chapter opens with the sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and all that, coming near to hear what the Lord Jesus had to say, so they represent the younger brother.
So, the older brother was angry so his father went out so he answered and said to his father, "Lo", Doesn't mean his father's name is lo, okay? He's not a Chinese father. "These many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends". "Not even make merry with you, father. I have no closeness with you. It's my friends". What a way. Actually, he's at home but he's far away. He's just as far. There are two prodigal sons actually, but he's self-righteous, that's the difference. I said, he's self-righteous.
Look at what the father said. But he went on saying, "But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him". I don't know why he's the first one that mentioned prostitutes. "Father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours'". In other words, "Why talk about never gave me a goat? It was your goat, huh? It's your goat. You could have killed it. You have this day I'm demanding, I'm demanding. You never see me as a generous God, a generous father. All that I have is yours". By the way, the word "son" is unfortunate. It's not full-grown son. In the original Greek, it is the word "child". "It was right that we should make merry and be glad, your brother was dead is alive again, he was lost and is found".
Let me just tell you this, look up here, it's possible to be a Christian, a believer, and still serving, serving, and working and working, looking at your deeds, you know, and finally when God blesses somebody who had just came, you know, yesterday and he got healed of the same condition that you had for many years you start feeling like, "Oh God, how can you do that, Lord? I play the piano. I usher. I served you all these years". So, all the while, you still don't believe it's not your works. So, do you serve? I serve because I want to serve. Why am I preaching as a pastor? I do it because I love the Lord and I want his message to go out. Are you understanding, people?
So, the cat is out of the bag. He revealed his motive. Why did God heal that person? By grace and you can be healed by grace, but take your eyes off yourself, and all your achievements, and all your service, and all your good deeds and say, "It's a privilege to serve the Lord, amen. But my serving doesn't bring me the blessings. The blessings come because of Calvary". Amen, church? So, God took his son's righteousness and all that his son deserved and God logizomai, set it to your account. So, at the cross, everything that was a curse, everything that was condemnation, everything that was bad fell upon Jesus like a heat-seeking missile. It was aiming for your head. It was aiming, the judgment was coming, the curse was coming for your head because you broke the Ten Commandments.
You broke the law of God. It was coming for your family but then Jesus became like a lightning rod that was lifted and he drew that missile right into him and now he cried, "Finished"! Finished means what? Nothing coming your way. I said, nothing coming your way. "Pastor Prince, what if I missed it"? Now, I'm not talking about people living in adultery here. Y'all know if you love the Lord and what he has done, you don't want to live in adultery. I don't say to my wife, "You love me or not"? You say, "I love you". "Even when I feel you love me, I love you, you big hunk". No, she doesn't say that. I wish she said, "big hunk", you know. I'm saying this in public so that she'll get the idea, you know what I'm saying?
So, let's say I'm about to travel, then I go off and say, "My wife loves me, she tells me she loves me unconditionally. I can go commit adultery, go to a massage parlor and, you know, no one knows, I'm overseas". Something is sick about me when I think that way and something is sick about our relationship. No, when you love the Lord, because he first loved you, you don't want to dishonor him. You don't want to dishonor him. So, but is it possible to be like this son? Everything is yours but you don't act like it. You're angry with your father because you think that, "I must work hard to please him", and all the while, it's not your father. I tell you when you read the Lord Jesus's words in parables, it's like a Korean drama. All the sons are there. It is better than Korean drama, I'm telling you.
So friend, I want you to sit back right now, relax. One more time we're gonna visit Calvary and see how God did it so that now he has a righteous foundation to justify man, man that is ungodly, man that is a sinner, without compromising. In fact, God's holiness is glorified by the death of his Son. The devil comes, or anyone come to the bars of heaven and the justice court of heaven and say, "How can that man, that woman, that man come into your presence"? God says, "Look at the cross. My holiness has been glorified by what my Son did". Did he escape? Did our sins escape judgment? No, look at the cross. "My Son suffered and took their place, and he was condemned so now they're all blessed because they're taking my Son's place". Sit back, watch what we did sometime ago.
You know, when I first directed this, I wanted the part where he said, "finished" and then, "Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit" 'cause many people make it like, you know, in the movies his head just dropped like helplessly bobbed down, death overtook him. But it wasn't like this. The Bible tells us that in the gospel of Matthew, in John, it was very majestic. He actually bowed his head first, that shows power, and then he breathed and dismissed, in the Greek, he dismissed his Spirit. The way a king dismiss a subject, he dismissed his Spirit. He breathed ha... he gave his life for us. But on the third day, I said, on the third day, God raised his Son from the dead. The Lord Jesus is alive today and all the curse and all the sins are left behind.
It's paid for and that's why a thrice holy God can receive you and I on a righteous basis, even though we are not perfect, amen, church? He cried, "My God, my God", so that today you can cry, "My Father, my Father". He cried, "Why have you forsaken me"? So you can cry, "Why have you so blessed me"? We can never understand that. Thank God for the cross. All across this place and everywhere that's watching this right now, friend, this is a love of God. God loves you. Now, religion might paint you a picture of only one side of God, which is holy, holy, holy and yes he is, oh blessed truth, he is a holy God. I cannot worship a God who is not holy. Yes, he's thrice holy, but more than that, the Bible defines him as God is love. It's his nature to love you.
When God looks at you and God knows whatever you're going through, he see your thoughts, he knows your heart, he knows why, not just what you did, but why you did what you did. Well, you know something? Knowing everything about you, God still loves you and God has sent his Son to die on the cross. You know that famous John 3:16 that we quote, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life", a lot of people do not realize that it was the Lord Jesus that quoted this verse. Whoever believes in him, regardless of who you are, you will not perish but have everlasting life.
So, I want to give you this opportunity right now to put your trust in Christ. Wherever you're watching this and those who are watching by way of television as well, wherever you are, whether you are in prison, whether you're in a hotel room, whether you're at home, just sense the presence of God and his love for you. And say this prayer after me and believe and put your trust in Christ alone and no longer in yourself. Say:
Father, I thank you for your great love for me. It's not my love for you, which is so small, which is weak, which fluctuates. I don't even know you. I'm a sinner but I thank you you loved me while I was still a sinner and you sent Christ to die for me as my sin offering. And on the third day, you raised him from the dead. He's alive today to be my good shepherd, to watch over me, to lead me and guide me beside the still waters, green pastures, provisions and blessings, for the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I thank you that the Lord Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I'm truly forgiven, completely of all my sins. I'm so blessed, greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved. In the name of the Lord Jesus, amen.
Praise the Lord. Stand to your feet, church. Praise the Lord. Friend, this coming week, like I said before early this year, a prophetic word came that it's gonna be a year of, you know, greater glory. Just remember, the Bible says if we suffer together with him, we shall also be glorified together, amen. So, whatever happens in the world, remember that God is with you. Do not think like someone in the world. God is with you. You have a Father who watches over you and we're gonna pray that he will always put you at the right place at the right time, amen?
Lift your hands, this coming week, the Lord bless you and the Lord keep you and your loved ones. The Lord protect and keep you and your loved ones from danger, from harm, from all manner of accidents, from all the powers of darkness, from the evil one, and from every infection and from every disease. The Lord keep you and your loved ones. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious and favorable to you and your families. The Lord put you at the right place at the right time, enjoying his free favors. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and grant to you and your loved ones his shalom peace. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all the people said, "amen". God bless you. We'll see you again.