Joseph Prince - Inherit God's Best, Don't Settle For Less
At one time, the Christian world in a earlier generation, they used to have this decoupage, they used to have like cushions, they have posters and all that, all over their houses with Bible verses. And that's how their children would grow up learning those Bible verse. I remember a friend of mine who is now in his, probably early 70s, who is a warrior during the wars of Israel. And some of you know him. He's the guy that very unassuming, amazing man, full of Bible knowledge. And he was the one that was mentioned in my book where he was caught in a crossfire, and not a single bullet touched him. And all his section mates saw that and they were the ones persecuting him because of his faith in Christ, the Messiah, Christ as Messiah, okay?
Actually the word "Christ" is Messiah. But they make fun of him because he's a believer. But he said to me this, I asked him, because he never learned about the word of faith, you know, about claiming protection. I said, "What made you know that you'll be protected during the war"? He says, "As a boy, when I grew up in my father's church, at that time, it's very rare to have a church in Israel. And it's made of believers who are actually Jewish people". He said that, "on my father's platform, there was a little rock that was cut out, and there's a verse on it that I kept on watching, even when I find the message boring, I'll keep on looking at that verse on that rock. And it says this, 'A thousand will fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.'" And he began to live there, amen?
The more you see it, the more you see it. My son saw a caption that we did for our church, again, some sort of like gift that we give to all of you. And it's called Live the Let-go Life, remember that? And it was on the fridge. And so, one day when he was doing something and I was, I was unaware that I was entertaining some burdensome thoughts and all that, he came to me and says, "Live the let-go life, man". So, I brought him one side later on say, "Hey, you spoke to Abba". So, I felt like God was using him prophetically. Say, "Where do you learn that phrase"? He said that, "On the fridge," he said. So, you never know that the little ones are watching, amen. Put the Word of God everywhere.
In fact, if you're gonna find the truth of this demonstrated, it is found in Deuteronomy chapter 11. In Deuteronomy 11, God says, "Write my words on your doorposts, write it on the gates, put it up in your hall, in your house, so that when you rise up even, speak of it, amen. When you lie down, speak of it, that your days, and the days of your children, will be multiplied like the days," listen, "like the days of heaven on the earth". Where is it found? Deuteronomy 11, amen. Fill your house with the Word of God, and fill your house with the Word of God because you are looking at it all the time, amen.
And I want you to remember this, we must evangelize, we must share the good news with our friends. If you love your friend, you love your fellow student, you know, that you go to school with and you're now buddies and all that, but he's not born again. Hey, the best way to love that person is to tell that person about Jesus, amen? Another way is also to open it with a non-threatening way by giving them something and if it's attractive enough, they will keep it. And you never know, we have so many testimonies of people who keep my book and later on, they were transformed.
When they went through a tough time, they saw the book, they opened up and the rest is history. The Lord met them, amen. Praise the Lord. How y'all doing? Everyone's good, amen? Got to know the person beside you, smile at them and say, "Why you sleep so late last night"? Always pace yourself for Sunday, amen. Come fresh. Come ready. I shouldn't be saying this for the first service, of course, but it is a people in the second service and the third service, amen. Praise the Lord, hallelujah.
I want to share something that again, we are still on how to possess your possessions, amen, through the wisdom of God. So, every Sunday when you come, God is imparting wisdom and wisdom is not knowledge. Knowledge, you can go to school, you can go to Harvard, you can go to Oxford, you can go to all those prestigious colleges, and we're not putting them down. They are prestigious, that's why you have to qualify for that. But you don't get wisdom from those places. You don't get wisdom from a location. You don't get wisdom from books, and you don't get wisdom just because you grow old.
There are people who are older people, we see them all the time, who are bearing grudges for something that happened maybe 50 years ago, 60 years ago, and they're still bearing grudges, refuse to speak to their relative. That's not wisdom, amen, because a grudge is like, always remember, when you don't forgive someone, it's like you are concocting poison for someone to drink, but you drink it yourself. The person can be happy, go blessed. We don't say lucky, you see. But you are miserable, why? Because you are entering that. So, I've seen older people smoke.
Now, if you have wisdom, you will see, mm-mm, not good, not good. Nobody suffers but you, amen? And you can reason all you want that it won't happen to you and all that. That's the devil's technique to allow some older person to smoke cigars and things like that, put them on TV, put them on social media, make them, you know, famous and then the young people start thinking it's okay, he lived long, amen? But the number, the hundreds compared to that one that has all kinds of conditions in their bodies, and they met with a earlier, you know, visit to the Father in heaven. You know, we don't want that to happen to you. It's not wisdom. But every Sunday, where you find wisdom, amen? Not just from every Sunday, from the Word of God.
So, there was a young man that asked God for wisdom, his name is Solomon, and God gave him wisdom. And the Bible says that not only God gave him wisdom, with wisdom comes riches, comes honor, comes length of days. Length of days includes health because you cannot live length of days, in the Bible times especially, without good health, amen. So, the Bible says that wisdom comes with all these, it comes with peace. No point having a long miserable life, but a life full of peace. That's what God wants you to have. God loves you, my man. God loves you, sister. God loves your family. And God, there's wisdom for your family. When you're at a loss, you don't know what to do. Ask God for wisdom. Man, there's always wisdom for every situation.
So, when we comes to church, what do we want? We want God to impart wisdom to us? For the Lord giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. And yes, God does give wisdom even to unbelievers, and it's a wisdom called every good gift, but not perfect gift. Perfect gift is for his children, amen? He gives wisdom to govern nations. He give wisdom to judges. He gives wisdom, he does. You read about it, it's called, chakam, all right, natural wisdom, amen? Any, I believe, I believe that our former Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew was given by God wisdom to govern this land, or else this nation will never be what it is, amen? We have a place in the end times, this nation, and God loves to use small things even yes, red dots, to glorify his name, amen? You all praying for your nation? Ah, one more time. You pray for your nation?
Okay. Today, we're gonna see what God has for us in terms of possessing the land, and this is something that God put on my heart, that if I will preach this in the natural, I would not want to preach this because it's not something that I have it, you know, in my heart to preach. But the Lord told me that you have to preach this to the people, and this is what is robbing them of possessing the land. So, I thought it was something like lack of faith or, you know, a lack of revelation on some issue, but God says, "No, this is the thing".
And if there's any lack of revelation, it is this thing that is robbing them. And you'll be shocked when I first tell you this because you would think that, "Why are you preaching this, Pastor Prince"? But you will see how it robs you of wisdom and robs you of your inheritance. There are enemies out there wanting to rob you of your inheritance. Another thing I want to tell you is this, when you read the Scriptures, always remember physical enemies to Israel today are our spiritual enemies. Those are shadows, they are types to point to you the reality of what you're experiencing today. All those things I read a few weeks ago, all those things that happened to Israel happened to them and they are written for our admonition, whatever happened to them, amen?
Number one, the Bible unveils Christ, that's number one. And why is that? Why is there a vested interest for you to learn that? Because whatever, whoever Christ is, you are in him. Whatever Christ has, you are co-heir with him, amen. All that he has, you have. As he is, so are we in this world. We don't read the Bible to find ourselves, we read the Bible to find Christ and when you find Christ, you find yourself, amen, because now your new self is in Christ. And you must see that how God views Christ is how God views you. Praise the Lord, are y'all learning.
Another thing we can learn is this, that everything in the Bible, the topography, like I encourage y'all to go to Israel because everything in Israel points to some, some reality in the New Testament, some truths that God wants us to learn that will set us free. Everything, for example, even the mountains and the valleys, you know, God designed it for a purpose. Why the Dead Sea called the Dead Sea? Because it is so full of minerals, that it is so condensed with these minerals that even though there's water there, there's no outlet. So, there's inlet, but there's no outlet, that becomes a Dead Sea. So, it becomes a lesson even for children to learn that when you keep on receiving and not give, amen, that's why they call it a Dead Sea. So, God even designed it to be like that, amen?
When John the Baptist came preparing the way for the Lord Jesus to come, he said this. He said, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord". That was the cry in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. By the way, prepare ye the way of the Lord in the Old Testament was, it was prophesied exactly the same phrase, and it says, "Prepare ye the way of Yahweh". Now, you don't see that in the Greek, but actually, he wouldn't have been speaking Greek. John the Baptist would have been speaking Hebrew, Aramaic. He would have said, "Prepare ye the way of Yahweh". That means Jesus is Yahweh, yud hei vav hei, amen? And then he says this, "Let every mountain be brought low, and let every valley be exalted". Can you see this? "Let every mountain be brought low, and let every valley be exalted, and make straight the paths of the Lord". Can you see that?
So, mountain is Jerusalem, which is many, many, many, many feet above sea level, amen. And Galilee is the place where most, three-fourths of Jesus's miracles were performed in Galilee, Galilee of the Gentiles. That's where the majority of his miracles took place. And Galilee is way below sea level. It is a valley and he's saying that let proud Jerusalem be humbled and let lowly, the outcasts, amen, be exalted, making straight the way of the Lord. So, there are lessons for us to learn about humility, pride. Amen, are y'all hearing what I'm saying?
All right, so here we're gonna read this story here, and then you'll see what the Lord has for you. If we remove this problem, the inheritance and the possessions will manifest because it's not you holding it back. It is these forces and God will tell Israel, "Look, Israel, I've given you the land, but the Jebusites are there, the Amorites are there, the Canaanites are there". And God says you have to remove them. Amen, you have to eliminate them.
Now again, what is physical in back in the past, they used to have real battles for us is spiritual battle. Perhaps today, you are battling with some thoughts of anxiety and worry. Some of you are battling with depressive thoughts and really very, I mean, dark, dark thoughts, and it's weighing heavy on your mind. Perhaps you are battling with some symptoms in your body that you're concerned about. Perhaps you're battling with a relationship situation involving one of your children. Whatever the case may be, God has a wisdom for you. And these are enemies that are actually hindering this relationship, hindering your health, hindering your peace of mind. They are squatters. They don't belong to the land of Israel, but you'll find them squatting there, amen.
So, when God bought Israel to eradicate them, it wasn't that they are the rightful owners. God owns that land, amen. And long before they set on the land, there was a king of Jerusalem called Melchizedek. Remember that, he brought bread and wine and gave it to Abraham. Abraham is the rightful heir of the entire land, but by the hundreds of years passed by the time that the children of Israel came out of Egypt when they went into the land, by then there are squatters there. There are Canaanites down there, and they had to evict them. They are squatters on your property. Are you listening, amen?
So, right now your possession, if you can see down there, there's a big fat demon down there, you know, sitting on your property and God wants them evicted. And the healing will flow. God wants them evicted from your, holding your minds like, your child's mind like a vice-like grip always causing your child to wake up crying, wake up crying, fearful, not knowing why, fearful in school, fearful in the playground, fearful while sleeping. God wants that demon evicted. We are in a warfare. As you learned a few Sundays ago that Pastor Lawrence preached, we are in a warfare, amen. We put on the whole armor of God. Are you listening? But one of the biggest problems we have in giving room, I just gave you a big thing right there, big, big phrase that's causing people not to inherit. They are giving room.
Whatever you give room to will grow, and one day you'll find that what you compromise, amen, will come back to haunt you. King Saul refused to destroy the Amalekites and it was an Amalekite many years after that killed King Saul, so Amalekite is a picture of the flesh, amen? You indulge your flesh. "Just a little indulgence, just a little indulgence". One day your flesh will rise up and kill you, amen? Your flesh is not your body. Your flesh is that sin principle that makes you want to do something wrong. That's the flesh, amen? And to the grace of God, you can put it to death, amen? It's robbing you, do you understand? It's robbing you.
Okay, Numbers 32. "Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead", What children are they? Two-and-a-half of the 12 tribes, Reuben and Gad, say, "Reuben and Gad". And the half tribe of Manasseh, Manasseh is the tribe the daughters of Zelophehad were from. Remember this daughters of Zelophehad? So, we have Ruben and Gad and then we have the half track of Manasseh and the Bible says they had a very great multitude of livestock. They had a lot of cows and cattle, a lot of sheep flock, I should say. "And when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead".
The land of Jazer and Gilead is now the Jordanian side. It is this side here, which means, look at me, okay? Let's show them the map so they understand. Now, we have the, this is the map of Israel where you are looking at the tribal allotments of the land where it's been divided into their inheritance during the time of Joshua, okay? So, on this side, on the right side, can you see Reuben, Gad, East Manasseh? They're actually not in the Promised Land at that time. They're actually outside the Promised Land.
Okay, can you see the outside? They're on the right side, they're on the east side. They haven't crossed the River Jordan, which is the blue line. Okay, can you see the sea of Galilee, right? Can you see the Dead Sea below? All right, in between is the River Jordan. Okay, remember how Joshua and his and his people all crossed the River Jordan? Then officially they're now in the Promised Land. So, on this side, it's not a Promised Land, right? They are, technically they're in the Promised Land, but they have not made the crossing into the Promised Land. But these two-and-a-half tribes, they have very large livestock and cattle, so they saw that this land was very, very green and verdant, and it's a place of pasture for their livestock.
So, guess what. All the promises God said about the land flowing with milk and honey were all forgotten, and they told Moses, "We like to settle in this, this place here". And Moses got angry and Moses told them, let's follow the story here. Okay, "The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, saying," all these places they mentioned plus Nebo, "the country which the Lord defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock. Therefore they said, 'If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan'".
On the servants words that Moses heard: don't take us over Jordan. Then, "And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: 'Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them" The sin of discouragement. Then verse 8, "Thus your fathers did", You know why the discouragement? Now we got two-and-a-half tribes lesser to fight the squatters, amen? "Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them".
Remember the story? They sent 12 spies and they came back saying there are giants and the walls are big. "We cannot take the land". And Joshua and Caleb says, "Let us go up at once. They are bread for us and their defense has departed from them," amen? And God was very grieved and the people want to stone Joshua and Caleb. How many of you preach good news and they say you are a prosperity preacher? Stone that person. Nowadays they don't stone, they put on social media and all kinds of media outlets and they want to say that you are a prosperity preacher, you preach people will prosper and be blessed and all that, and that's exactly what Joshua and Caleb told the people of Israel, the land flows. Look at these grapes, prosperous grapes, big grapes, and they are saying you're just raising their hopes. You're just, and, stone them.
Anyway, God says and then God intervened. God told Moses he's grieved with all the others that says they cannot take the land. They cannot take the land that God promised was flowing with milk and honey. It is not a land, listen, it's not even a land filled with milk and honey, it's flowing. You know what's flowing or not? The idea of super abundance. You know, when God blesses you and your blessing is flowing, it has two things. Number one, it is overflowing, all right, idea of abundance. Number two, flowing means what? You are blessing others. So, God didn't say the land is filled with milk and honey, land flows with milk and honey, okay, amen? The fact that today we have our inheritance in Christ, amen. It is not just in simple cut and dry inheritance. It is actually flowing, flowing, flowing, amen, praise God.
So, Moses reminded them about the discouragement of the children of Israel, and he went on a long discourse of what happened, how God got angry, and God says, "Those above 20 will all die in the wilderness. Those under 20 will live with Joshua and Caleb to go into the Promised Land," okay? And that happened in the time of Joshua. So, we know that many died. So, I don't want to be a wandering, wondering, W-A, W-O, generation that didn't possess their possessions. And that's why through the year of hesed wisdom, we want to receive wisdom to learn to walk in all that God has for us.
Let me ask you a question, have your inheritance been attacked recently? Have you been experiencing strange symptoms in your body? Have you been experiencing, all of a sudden, waking up with attacks in your mind and like a panic attack, anxiety? Have you been attacked in your sleep not being able to sleep? Have you been attacked in your relationships, some relationship has gone awry. I mean, it's gone sour because of, you know, just simple things spoken and all that. And it's like it's an attack on you. Wake up and smell the teh tarik, realize there's an enemy out there that's out to get you, amen? We are not fighting for, we are fighting from. But the problem is that even this position that we have, there are squatters in that place, we need to evict them, we need to identify who they are, amen?
So anyway, these people have no heart, Reuben, the tribe of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had no heart for the Promised Land. All they can think of is like today we will say they want to natural profit. They want to make money, that's all. Inheritance, not important. They don't realize inheritance will include even wealth that God has for them, but they compromise. You know, whatever you compromise to get, you ultimately loose. You find it's inferior in quality. Can I have a good amen? Like, like getting some of the stuff that we put out there is better than some psychological experts out there giving you advice that's not based on God's Word, amen.
There are a lot of all kinds. You go to a bookshop, and you see all kinds of titles, but it's not based on the Word of God, it will never work. We grew up, you know, in a society where we honor our leaders, we respect our elders, we call people uncle, all right? I met someone the other day who just turned 41, and I told him the first thing you need to be concerned about is when you are in the mall somewhere and a young girl of 18, 19 years old around that age, touch you and say, "Excuse me, uncle," you're in trouble then, I said, you know? So, that's when you turn 40 or 41, you know that, you know, you become an uncle. So anyway, it's a society in Singapore that respect people, right? Come on, am I right? Yes, hmm, wait for while, ah? "Preach it, Pastor Prince," hallelujah, amen.
Don't be afraid to correct your children, and don't be afraid to have boundaries when they are teenagers, all right, especially teenagers. Don't be afraid to have boundaries, and don't be afraid, grace parents, parents of grace, don't be afraid to tell them, "Unless you have done this, all right, this benefit here will be taken away from you. All right, three strikes and you're out. Tomorrow, no game time". And enforce it. "But that's not grace. Pastor Prince". No friend, listen. Grace is what gives us wisdom to do these kind of things. All right? Love them always and always tell them, "I love you. I love you". But there are also reward and discipline. I don't want to say punishment, discipline. Amen? Can I go on?
Okay, so what they said was this, because of time I'm gonna tell you, Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh says, "You know what? You are thinking that we won't fight because we draw down here? No, we'll go cross the River Jordan. We'll fight for our brothers," and then we'll come back and join our family. So, they thought, they thought of leaving their wives, their children, their family in the area of Jordan today. We'll leave them there. We will go armed, we'll go in a fight. And Moses says you don't fight. And this is where that phrase came, "Be sure your sin will find you out," okay?
So, you drop down, that's what was said. All right, they said to Moses, "We'll build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, but we ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities". It sounds very noble, but it's still a compromise, amen. They didn't want the Promised Land. They will help the brothers fight in the Promised Land, but then they will come back and dwell on the other side of the Promised Land. "We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received". Okay, drop down. "For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan".
Who told you that? They didn't want to inherit what they have inside the land, they will inherit what they saw. So, just leaving just for money will rob you of the best God has. God wants us to work. The Bible says if any would not work, he's worse than an infidel and that, by the way, is from the lips of grace. The Apostle Paul wrote that. If any does not work, he's worse than an infidel. Now, I look at people that, when they are young and they have opportunity, and they go out to work to get some money. I respect people like that. Those from, you know, more well-off families and their kids not doing anything, you know, I mean, you gotta teach them the value of the dollar.
"Pastor Prince, can you get off and just preach". Moreover, okay, so Moses told them, "If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war, and all your armed men cross Jordan". Drop down. "And the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be blameless before the Lord and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession. But if you do not do so, then take note, Moses said, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out". It's the sin of discouragement. You know, preachers like to use it, "Be sure your sin will find you out. This is where they got it from". And it's the sin of discouraging your brothers, amen? One thing to live on this side.
So, it is what I call world bordering, bordering on the world. Let me show you this map again, okay? They are, they are closest right now. Again, can you see Reuben? Can you see gad? Can you see East Manasseh? There's a West Manasseh and there's an East Manasseh. So, all these two-and-a-half tribes compromise on their best. You know, the enemy of best is not worse, okay, it is better. You settle for something you think is better, but you miss out on the best, okay? So, they miss the best of the land so two-and-a-half tribes over here, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.
I just want to tell you something about these tribes. Number one, these three tribes from then on, you never hear of a prophet that came out from them. You never hear of a warrior, a well-known warrior from them. You never hear of any famous people from these two-and-a-half tribes. In other words, they became normal Christians neutralized, world-bordering, near the world. Live as close to the world as possible, all right, but miss out on the best God has. You know when people are dating, it all depends, right? They want to ask you can they kiss, can they hold hands or whatever? And you look at how many years they have and you know that they have five years, left seven years left, eight years left, whatever, what do you tell them? They want to tell you, "How close can I get to the cliff of the mountain"? The safest is to be in the center, right? And there's a law of diminishing marginal utility.
First of all, you start with the hand. After for a while, the hand not happy with the hand already. Then you want hugging, then you want kissing, then how far will it go? You have few more years left. Now, these things are designed by God, physical expression, but it's just that these things, if you compromise now, unless you tell yourself it stops at holding hands for this whole year. You're getting married in four years' time so now hold hand. Second year, all right, just this kind of hug. Can you do that by the grace of God? You can't, but you need to realize what's happening, the flesh, world bordering.
Christians are saying, you know, business things like lying, they call that a white lie. There's no white lie, there's no purple lie. A lie is a lie. Like, for example, if you go to the food court and you ask for Hokkien meat, you ask for kway teow, or whatever, and you see a drop of something brown and you say, "What's this"? The guy say, "Oh, my, I was cooking and then a little bird pooped just a bit, just a bit only, lah. It's only a bit, okay"? Would you just eat it? Just eat it. Why don't you eat it? Disappeared, right, you will not eat it, right?
So, how did it sound when you say, you know, just a bit, just a bit. To God just a bit can cost you your health, amen? That's why we say, why is God so... you know, it's not. God, the word "holy," the English word "holy," right, and the word "whole" has the same root. Whole is what? Healthy. In fact, a very old English word hale, H-A-L-E, someone is, you know, is healthy. Don't play around because by the way this Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh, they a bit of lie in business, a bit of like putting down this account, never mind, doesn't matter.
For me, I never allow my leaders to say that we, have we have 40,000 or whatever. We have 30, like to say 30,000. They tell me that it's consistently now 33,000 but for me it's 30,000. I rather be safe around there, around ballpark figure. You know, for me, I don't even feel that our church is a large church, I don't. I'm preaching to individuals. I always feel like you are there, and I'm talking to you like a like, I hate to say this, like a father in the Lord, amen. I say, father, not brother, Father got rod, okay? So, we have Reuben, Gad, Manasseh. Can you see Gad? By the way, Gad goes all the way up. They like to get about so they get, get, get, get about all the way to the where I was earlier this year preaching at Zamack in Israel the southern tip, can you see that?
So, it is what I call world bordering, bordering on the world. Let me show you this map again, okay? They are, they are closest right now. Again, can you see Reuben? Can you see gad? Can you see East Manasseh? There's a West Manasseh and there's an East Manasseh. So, all these two-and-a-half tribes compromise on their best. You know, the enemy of best is not worse, okay, it is better. You settle for something you think is better, but you miss out on the best, okay? So, they miss the best of the land so two-and-a-half tribes over here, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.
I just want to tell you something about these tribes. Number one, these three tribes from then on, you never hear of a prophet that came out from them. You never hear of a warrior, a well-known warrior from them. You never hear of any famous people from these two-and-a-half tribes. In other words, they became normal Christians neutralized, world-bordering, near the world. Live as close to the world as possible, all right, but miss out on the best God has. You know when people are dating, it all depends, right? They want to ask you can they kiss, can they hold hands or whatever? And you look at how many years they have and you know that they have five years, left seven years left, eight years left, whatever, what do you tell them? They want to tell you, "How close can I get to the cliff of the mountain"? The safest is to be in the center, right? And there's a law of diminishing marginal utility.
First of all, you start with the hand. After for a while, the hand not happy with the hand already. Then you want hugging, then you want kissing, then how far will it go? You have few more years left. Now, these things are designed by God, physical expression, but it's just that these things, if you compromise now, unless you tell yourself it stops at holding hands for this whole year. You're getting married in four years' time so now hold hand. Second year, all right, just this kind of hug. Can you do that by the grace of God? You can't, but you need to realize what's happening, the flesh, world bordering.
Christians are saying, you know, business things like lying, they call that a white lie. There's no white lie, there's no purple lie. A lie is a lie. Like, for example, if you go to the food court and you ask for Hokkien meat, you ask for kway teow, or whatever, and you see a drop of something brown and you say, "What's this"? The guy say, "Oh, my, I was cooking and then a little bird pooped just a bit, just a bit only, lah. It's only a bit, okay"? Would you just eat it? Just eat it. Why don't you eat it? Disappeared, right, you will not eat it, right?
So, how did it sound when you say, you know, just a bit, just a bit. To God just a bit can cost you your health, amen? That's why we say, why is God so... you know, it's not. God, the word "holy," the English word "holy," right, and the word "whole" has the same root. Whole is what? Healthy. In fact, a very old English word hale, H-A-L-E, someone is, you know, is healthy. Don't play around because by the way this Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh, they a bit of lie in business, a bit of like putting down this account, never mind, doesn't matter.
For me, I never allow my leaders to say that we, have we have 40,000 or whatever. We have 30, like to say 30,000. They tell me that it's consistently now 33,000 but for me it's 30,000. I rather be safe around there, around ballpark figure. You know, for me, I don't even feel that our church is a large church, I don't. I'm preaching to individuals. I always feel like you are there, and I'm talking to you like a like, I hate to say this, like a father in the Lord, amen. I say, father, not brother, Father got rod, okay? So, we have Reuben, Gad, Manasseh. Can you see Gad? By the way, Gad goes all the way up. They like to get about so they get, get, get, get about all the way to the where I was earlier this year preaching at Zamack in Israel the southern tip, can you see that?
Zamack, by the way, is where Gad ends up, all the way up there, Gad. Later on during Jesus's time, this was Joshua's time. During Jesus's time Gad, the people of Gad down there went about on the east side of the Sea of Galilee and became Gadara. Gad-dara. Remember that Gadarene demoniac? That's what happens when you compromise with the world. He was so demon-possessed Jesus had to cast off, why? He adopt, and another thing I want to say about our children, don't bother play around. Look at the books they are reading.
And I know that you don't have to buy Christian books all the time, okay, and but go through the books. I bought some books for another pastor's son's birthday. But as I was going through the books, you know, it's children's books. I saw all kinds of I mean, it's not just ghosts they talk about, it's about now it's the season of Halloween, right? So, what do you, "Ah, we go open, you know, as Christians. Must not be a", No, but I think there are demonic factors. There are demonic factors, celebration of fear, amen? And the more fearful you are, the better it is. Fear sells.
So, you gotta be very careful. For me, I'll never allow my children to watch "Harry Potter". "How can you say that, Pastor Prince, you are so narrow-minded". No, no, no, friend, I'm straight minded. I see things clearly, both the physical and the spiritual world, amen? Don't compromise. Don't bring items into your house that you know is this object is an object of, you know, whatever it is, you know, lucky charm, whatever. Don't trust that. And I tell my boy, "We don't believe in this, we believe in Jesus and his favor on you". Amen? Teach them to say not, "I'm lucky," "I'm blessed". I mean once in a while they will compromise, right? I mean, children are very cute.
Like the other day, you know, just two weeks ago, my son was at Time Zone, and Time Zone, you know the tickets that come out when he got a golden ticket, which gives him 1,000 extra tickets. So, I was I was beside him, and he got it. He was so happy. So, later on he told his mother, "You know, mom, it wasn't Abba who was doing it, you know, it was me, you know? And wow, praise me". So, I had to bring him one side and say, "What praise you? Praise Jesus". I say, then he say, "Okay". What he's trying to say it wasn't, you know, Abba is playing something, another game beside me. I'm always playing. If I play, I play near him, okay? But it wasn't Abba, he was trying to say, it's me, praise me.
I had to correct, small thing? No, little compromises will make them think, all right, and it's hard to be humble when you think it's you, you, you. You gotta stop and say, "You know why we're getting blessed? Family, you know why we're so blessed? You know why these things are happening? It's the Lord's blessing on us. The Lord is the one". So, when you say, "I'm blessed," when someone says, "I'm blessed," that means what? It implies there is a blesser. When you say, "I'm lucky," lucky doesn't cut it, okay? It is like it so happens, amen. I knew that you would enjoy this sermon. I knew you would enjoy this sermon, praise God, amen? Yeah, this is called messing around with you sermon, amen.
I want you to know that Jesus is new, all right? And the Bible says if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father, so the world is the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life. Notice that if someone loves the world, what is the conclusion of the Bible? The love of the Father, not the love for the Father. Don't let anyone turn this to if you love the Father, you will not love the world. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty like that, okay?
What he's saying is that if you practice the Father's love for you, and the Father says, "I have this best for you," you won't compromise for less because you know the Father loves you. If Father loves you, you know that he has the best for you. My Father loves me, amen. My Father only wants the best for me. Even when things go wrong, my Father gonna turn this for my good. So, when people love the world, it's because the love of Father is not, I'm telling you this, even Christians, when they try to be like the world in the philosophy of the world, in the style of the world, at the end, they end up lower than the world. Be very careful.
Now, I'm gonna close with this. There was, by the way, just let you know that when God talks about having the best for you, you never know what's the best. Are you listening? I used to think that this was the best when I had this relationship, and then this one came along, Wendy, this beautiful one. I can tell you many other stories. The star, we were given a place in Bulgese, all right, smaller place. And something didn't sit right with me and the Lord said to me, "This not the best". And I told my leaders that, you know, we are going, I think that God has the best for us in Singapore, land scarcity and all that, God has a bigger place for you. Yes. And I told you all that. I stood up here and told you all that, God has something better for us. And here you are sitting in the reality of it.
So, at first it was an inheritance in the spiritual realm, all right, but inheritance always manifests in the physical realm. There are three things I want you to write down about inheritance real quick, and I'm gonna tell you one last story, we're gonna close. All right, three things. Number one, 1 Peter 1, verse 3, please. The Bible says for inheritance in verse 4 here it says, "to an inheritance, God has brought us, begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible".
Number one, our inheritance is incorruptible, what does that mean? Not subject to death. Whatever, if God gives you your health, if God gives you health, it is not subject to death. If God gives you something, it's not subject to the natural laws of this earth, okay? If God gives you that relationship, it's not subject to death. It might go through a season or trial, but it's not subject.
Now number two, this inheritance is undefiled. What is undefiled? Cannot be defiled by sin. Undefined means what? Cannot be stained or defiled by sin, cannot be. So, sin cannot touch it. The first one incorruptible death cannot touch it. Undefiled is sin cannot touch it. In other words, you cannot lose it through sin when you are in Christ, amen? But we don't want to sin because the love of the Father is in our hearts. We know the Father loves us.
And number three, "That does not fade away". "Does not fade away" is unfading. What is that? Not subject to what? Time. It doesn't fade away, okay? Now, where is it, our inheritance? God has secured it. It's reversed in heaven, or preserved, reserved there in heaven for you. It doesn't mean one day you get it. No, no, what is reserved there is for you to enjoy today, but your bank is not here. Your bank is in heaven where moths cannot destroy, where thieves cannot break through and steal, where the forces of inflation cannot touch. But you can draw it down here, because the next one says, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time".
The word "time" there in Greek is "kairos," which is a special season of time. Well, this salvation is not a salvation deliverance from eternal death, amen. That is part of it, but this salvation is something that will happen in the last kairos moment. We are the last time, the end time generation. We are the people who are gonna see the salvation of God manifest here, ready to be revealed in the last time, okay? So, this is your inheritance. It's not subject to death. It's not subject to time. It cannot be defiled by sin, amen?
Let me tell you a story, a sad story, but a wonderful story at the end because it's such a beautiful story. There was a righteous king. I told you last week the kingdom was divided into two, the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah in Jerusalem. So at this time, the king of Israel is Ahab, the husband of Jezebel. Jezebel. Pastor, don't shout like that. It makes me frightened because I am married to one, you know? I'm just playing, okay. I'm sorry I rang the bell. And the other one is Jehoshaphat, all right? Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat is a righteous king, a good king, and Jehoshaphat is the king of Judah.
Let's follow the story. "And Jehoshaphat," we'll close with this, "had riches and honor in abundance". God blessed Jehoshaphat. He was a righteous king. He was a godly king, amen. Of course his righteousness is imputed by God, but he lived according to the ways of his father David. He honored God. And the Bible says he had riches and honor in abundance. He doesn't need the king of Israel in the north. He doesn't need him. It's not as if he needed to join a peace treaty, or an affinity, or whatever, but he made an alliance by marriage with Ahab.
Now, this marriage is, he married off his son to Ahab's daughter. "After some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab," the king of Israel, "killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead". Ramoth Gilead is now under Syria. Today the same thing is happening in Israel. Syria in the north, they are allowing Iranians to come in and launch attacks here and there, little, you know, and Syria, again, is becoming a problem for Israel. Now Russia is gonna come and join in in the north in Syria. It's like we are almost getting set for Ezekiel 38.
Anyway, let's drop down. "So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, 'Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?'" which is under Syria. Ramoth Gilead should belong to Israel, but during that time it was under Syrian rule. "And he answered him, 'I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war'". Big mistake. He compromised with someone who was worldly, someone who was compromising, who didn't obey God. In fact, his wife was promoting Baal worship. Remember the story of Elijah?
Okay anyway, let's see what happened to the battle. And then not only that, he says this. Drop down. The king of Israel is very subtle, you know? "The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.'" Now, this is a duh moment for Jehoshaphat, all right? "So, the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, 'Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.'"
Very good strategy. In other words, right, don't fight with just anybody. Find who is the king of Israel, go for him, finish him off. And who was wearing his kingly robes? Jehoshaphat. Who was in disguise? Ahab. Jesus said the children of this world, in some ways, right, they are wiser than the children of light. They are subtle. They are cunning. As Jesus himself said, "Be therefore wise as serpents". He didn't say wise as doves, you know? He said wise as serpents, but humble as doves. Be loving, yes. Be loving as doves, but for goodness sake, be wise as serpents. Okay, I gotta agree with myself again. Praise the Lord. Good preaching, Pastor. Good preaching.
And again, you look good from the back. "Fight with no one, only the king of Israel". Let's see what happened. Drop down. "So it was, when the captains of the chariots of Syria saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, 'It is the king of Israel!'" Of course it wasn't the king, right, of Israel. He was the king of Judah, but he was dressed in his royal regalia and they attacked. "They surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him. So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw it that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him".
I love this one. And by the way, just to show that your Bible is inspired, one of the things I wanna show you, how the perfections and excellencies of holy Scripture. It's like over here, Jehoshaphat cried out, all right? He cried out and the Lord helped him. "Lord" is "Yahweh" here. Yahweh is always relationship. For example, in Genesis chapter 1, the very first chapter of the Bible, it says in the beginning, "God". Not Lord, God created heaven and earth. God is Elohim. And it's all "God said," and "God saw it was good," and "God made man," and "God said," and "God said". The entire creation is all Elohim, the Creator, the powerful Creator, the sovereign Creator.
Genesis 2, when man came on the scene, he says, "Lord God," Yahweh Elohim, for the first time, why? Man has come. And from then on, Lord. When you see "Lord" in your English Bible, L-O-R-D, it's Yahweh, all right? Capital L-O-R-D is always Yahweh. Capital L, small O-R-D is Adonai, Adon. But here we go, he cried out to the Yahweh. He has a relationship with Jehovah. And God, the one who moved creation, the one who created creation and can move creation, Elohim, helped him. Same person, but that shows the accuracy of Scripture. David said, "The battle is the Lord's". The Lord says, "Not with spear and sword".
The battle is the Lord's, why? Because he had a relationship with Yahweh. But then David said this, "Today God will deliver you into my hand, that all the earth may know there is a God," Elohim, "in Israel". The earth doesn't know Yahweh. The people of the world only know Elohim, God, the mighty God. So, all the earth will know there is Elohim in Israel, David said. Very accurate. Never mind, I just throw that for you scholars and all that, but these kind of things always warm my heart. Anyway, he cried out, and Yahweh helped him, and Elohim diverted them from him. "So it was, when they saw it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him".
Of course God turned them back the Bible says, right? And then one of the Syrians, a young guy, took a bow and arrow and just shot at random. Next verse, drop down. "Drew at random, and the arrow flew in and struck the king of Israel," Ahab, who was in disguise, "between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, 'Turn around, take me out of the battle, I am wounded.' The battle increased that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening; and about the time of sunset he died".
So, Jezebel became a widow. So, it's just by accident, anyhow shoot, pssssh, hit the king of Israel. And the king of Judah was in his royal regalia, so thank God, God came in. But the problem with him was this. I'm gonna give you this secret and then we're gonna close, okay? Are you ready? All right, go back to what Jehoshaphat said to Ahab, what the king of Judah said to the king of Israel. Go back to this earlier on. When Ahab king of Israel says, "Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead"? when the world wants to engage you.
Now, it's okay, you know, sometimes you do business and all that. You know, I'm not saying stop being worldly means go out there and be a hermit. That's not true Christianity. Jesus walked among the people, even the social outcasts, amen? A hermit can be a hermit and still be full of lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, still be worldly. So, I'm not saying cut off yourself from the world. So, you do business. You do business with the world and all that, but never, never go down to their worldly principles. Never agree with them on a worldly principle and never take a battle that's not yours.
There's another king called Josiah. He died young. Amazing king. I love the story of Josiah, but he died young. You know why? He got involved in a battle that wasn't his. In fact, the enemy king says, "Don't get involved. This is not your battle". He got involved. It wasn't God's will for him to die young. He died young. So, here Jehoshaphat, getting involved in a war that's not his, it's like Israel's war, because Ramoth Gilead is in the northern part. It's Israel's responsibility, right? And right now, Israel doesn't want to be recognized with king of Judah, so they should actually acknowledge what the Lord has done, but he came to affinity. And this is what he says, "I am", Jehoshaphat told Ahab, king of Israel, "I am as you are, and my people as your people; we'll be with you in the war".
Some time back I was studying this and the Lord made this Word jump out at me that I just underlined for you, "I am as you are". Whenever you tell someone who is not blessed by God, someone who is living in worldly principles, and the ways of the world, deceptions, and all that kind of thing, when you tell them, "I am as you are," you get their fate. Are you listening? God says, even in the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, "Come out of her, my people. Touch not, be not partakers of her plagues".
So, it's possible for a Christian to touch plagues that's not theirs. Even though we are blessed, we can get involved with things that's not ours. So, God is saying, listen carefully, you know what Jehoshaphat says? "I am as you are". And he ended up literally in the fate, in the place that the king of Israel was supposed to be, surrounded by the enemies, about to be killed but for the mercy of God. He was about to be killed. But listen, listen, what happened to him? The moment he said, "I am as you are," bang, the fate of the other person is yours. All that he has, his portion, his desserts, it's all yours. His benefits are yours. And what benefit is that? What dessert is there? What blessings is there? This is the same principle with 1 John 4:17, "Because as he is, so are we in this world".
You know, I can't begin to tell you, when God revealed this to me many years ago, how one lady in our church who went to a doctor and found that she has a growth in her breast, and then she wrote down there. She just heard me preach, "As Jesus is," and I said, "Don't limit God like the children of Israel did". They limited the Holy One of Israel. Don't just say that, "As he is righteous, so am I". Yes, but how 'bout physical? Is he sick now at the Father's right hand? No, amen. Does he have any disease now? No. As he is, so are we in this world, amen, and I was preaching that strongly. And that lady took it, wrote it on her medical report, went back to the doctor, they can't find a trace of it.
Do you know that if you go to JosephPrince com, there's a whole testimonies down there, especially from America. A lot of testimonies down there of people who used this, ladies with growth and all that, who found tremendous, I mean, amazing report of no more growth through the biopsy. They found no more growth. I mean, it's amazing. And not only that, there are people using it for other things as well. I am as you are. Is Jesus prosperous right now? Those who are against prosperity or whatever and all that, which is a form of hypocrisy because they themself, you know, they live and they want their children to prosper and all that.
I mean, never mind, that's another thing. Hypocrisy is always there. Hippo. Anyway, the thing is this, when it comes to Jesus, look at him, where he is right now, far above principalities, far above every demon. Where are we? I'm as you are. We are suffering his fate. He's under God's favor. We say, "I'm as you are. As you are, so am I". We enjoy where he is. You understand? And it's true, because as he is, so are we in this world. But if you tell someone who is not blessed, "I am as you are," same thing. Exactly what happened to Jehoshaphat. He came to a place, he even ended up in the center of attention, the place where the King of Israel is supposed to be.
So, don't ever identify yourself with anybody else except the Lord Jesus Christ. As he is, so am I in this world. Never say, "My grandfather was healthy, man. He lived to a good old age. He lived to 100 years old. My father is healthy also. He died at 99. So, I'm sure that I'll be healthy". No, no, no, you are identifying the wrong person. You are trusting in the flesh now. Dangerous ground. That one is corruptible. That one can be defiled. That one can fade away, okay? Even your genes can fade away. It can break down. But your inheritance is incorruptible. Identify, is Jesus incorruptible, amen? Amen, is he unfading? Amen, he's young forever at the Father's right hand.
And sometimes I'll tell him, "As you are young, so am I in this world. As you are strong, so am I in this world. As you are free from every disease, so am I in this world. As you are under God's favor right now, so am I in this world. As you are far above all evil, so am I in this world, amen". There's no limit. I thank God for this revelation. Now it's preached everywhere. I see a lot of people preaching it already, but when it began, we didn't even have any testimonies much to talk about it except my testimony and that lady's testimony. But how it triggered off a whole army of people with amazing testimonies now.
So never don't try to be like the world. When you try to be like the world, you end up worse than the world. Just remember that, amen? And all the people said. We're done. We are done, praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. And you can tell, right, even this sermon, there's so much in it that we cannot really share because of time, but I believe that what is shared is enough. The portion is enough to feed you.
I wanna pray for you right now. I wanna pray for parents and I wanna pray for business people. For some reason, these are the two things that God has brought on my heart in a strong way. There's been a lot of, like, "I do not know what to do with my son. I do not know how to bring him up, how to bring my daughter up". She might be a teenager. It's not too late. He might be a boy in his mid teens or late teens. It's not too late. Don't let the world educate him. You have the authority that no one else has, amen? And I'll pray for businesspeople.
Father, in Jesus' name right now I pray that your wisdom, oh that wonderful wisdom that you gave to Solomon, Father, and he wrote about parenting. Oh Father, that wisdom, that wisdom from on high. Father, the wisdom that is first peaceable, easy to be entreated. Father, the knowing what to do. That wisdom that grows on the inside. I have to decide between A and B, what shall I decide on? That wisdom that keeps on growing towards one path and then your people will know that this is the path, because that urim is lit up. That wisdom will guide them. I pray for that wisdom right now in Jesus's name to be imparted right now.
Say amen if you want to receive it. In Jesus's name, I release that upon your precious people, Lord, those who are parents, Father, right now, to govern, Lord, to lead, Lord, to love, Lord, to nourish, to disciple according to that wisdom, Lord, godly wisdom. In Jesus's name, thank you, Father. And I pray for the businesspeople in our church, Father. I pray for people involved in business. I pray, Father, if there's compromise, if there are manipulations involved, if there's arm of the flesh being put in, Lord, and all these efforts to get more money, in the name of Jesus, let it cease from this day.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray you'll grant them wisdom as well, Lord, and favor. Everywhere they go, whatever they undertake, let them operate, Lord. Even if they say yes at a loss naturally, I know you have something greater for them. And even if they are removed, Lord, for making a stand, Lord, I know you have something greater for them. Thank you, Father. In Jesus's name, and the people said... Now, those of you who have never put your trust in Christ, pray this prayer right now from your heart, amen.
Father in heaven, I believe that Christ died for sinners. I'm a sinner. I thank you that Christ died for me. And I believe he bore all my sins, suffered all my judgment so that I'll never be judged ever again, and he rose from the dead. I believe that Christ is watching over me. I confess Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior. In Jesus's name, amen.
Stand to your feet, praise the Lord. Now, it's a simple prayer, but if you believe what you said just now, the Bible says in one fell swoop, it's that simple. You've been delivered, or translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, amen? Praise the Lord. Lift your hands all across this place. Let me bless you.
This coming week, the Lord bless you, you and your families, and the Lord keep you. The Lord preserve you. The Lord keep you from all dangers, preserve you from all harm and from all the power of the evil one. The Lord grant you grace to be like the fish of the sea that is kosher, sliding through this world, and yet having scales, not to allow the uncleaness to come in into the fish. In Jesus's name, may you be in the world, but not of the world. May you be as Jesus is, righteous, holy, strong, healthy, young, energetic, far above all principality, far above all evil, under God's unclouded favor. In Jesus's name, amen, amen. God bless you.