Joseph Prince - His Lavish Love Exceeds Your Expectations
How y'all doing in the year of the latter rain? Praise the Lord. Sit back, relax, watch... The year of the latter rain, amen. You know, in China, they have a term they use, right? Like many other places, spring rain as well as winter rains. So, the latter rain is actually spring rain, and how do you say that in Chinese? I just came from there, actually. But they call it spring rain and winter rains. In fact, in The Message Bible, that's how they call the former rain or the latter rain or the early rain. The early rain they say winter rains and the latter rain is the spring rain, which is in the months of the spring rain in Israel is in the months of March, April, whereas the winter rains will be November, December.
And I shared with all of you that since 2013 when they had a record rainfall and also snow in Jerusalem and in Israel, since then they had a five-year drought and the drought was broken only recently. And I didn't know about all this, but when the Lord gave me the year of the latter rain, I was actually on my holidays, you know, with my family enjoying myself, not keeping myself up to date with what is happening, you know? But lo and behold, you know, the two weeks ago, before I preached on the year of the latter rain in the first Sunday of the year, I actually called my friend the day before and I asked him, "How are the rains there"? And he told me that, "Pastor Prince, praise God, the winter rains have come at such a record level".
And after that received news, of course, after the first Sunday we received news that rain has been coming and now it's official, the five-year drought in Israel has been broken. And not only that, for the past two Sundays, do you remember me sharing about how God's wisdom is concentrated in the clouds? It's like the Bible says, "So shall my Word be. Like the rain that comes down and the snow that comes down, so shall my Word come down". Remember I shared that with all of you?
In fact, in the last two Sundays, I've been referring to this passage of Scripture saying that God's wisdom in heaven, you know, it's too concentrated. Just like all the waters in the clouds, hundreds of tons of it, it cannot just fall like that on the earth, it will cause damage, destruction, right? But what God does is that he allows the rain, amen, the precipitation of it, to mix with the dust and all that and it comes down as droplets that will not even mar or injure a tiniest flower, amen. So, I shared that and I say that God's Words comes down, like Isaiah 55 says, like the rain and the snow.
And little did I know then, even last week, that the very last week, this past few days, it is official, they didn't expect this to happen. In fact, they were not sure it's gonna happen but it happened, snow is coming back to Jerusalem, to Israel. Look up here, in the times Israel and they talk about rare winter snowstorm. In fact, I saw a clip that my friend who runs Zaro Tours, they took a picture of the video of the place and the guy was saying, yapheh, yapheh, yapheh and yapheh in Hebrew means beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. So, the snow is beautiful. And the Bible, another analogy of snow is that for God says, "I will wash your sins whiter than snow".
Now, what can be whiter than snow? You know, sometimes you gotta wear snow shades, right, to protect yourself from the blinding snow. Those who are skiers, you know what I'm talking about, right, you gotta wear the goggles, right? But what can be whiter than snow? And that's how clean the blood of Jesus has made you, whiter than snow. You are brilliant white, amen, in the eyes of God, washed from all your sins, amen? And then it says, for as the rain comes down, let's go to that right away. And it says in Isaiah 55, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts". We are talking about ways and thoughts, man's ways, man's thoughts. God's ways, God's thoughts.
Now, before that, I want to show you again Joel 2 where it talks about "Be glad, you children and Zion, and rejoice," why? "He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you, the former rain, the winter rain, and the latter rain," which is the spring rain, "in the first month". The word "month" is not there in the original in the first like the first, like the beginning. Now, it's redundant for the Word to say he has given you the former rain and he will cause the rain to come down, the former rain. It's a repetition.
So, actually in the Hebrew, in the Hebrew, there are few words for rain, number one, there is a rain matar, which is a generic word for rain. The usual rain, okay, the normal rain. But there's another word geshem, geshem is heavy downpour. Like in the Book of Nehemiah, it says they could not stand outside because of the geshem, the heavy rain, heavy downpour. And then there's another word for early rain, winter rain, which is the word "yowreh" from where we get the "moreh". Moreh is used only twice in the Old Testament and one of them is here.
Now, why is that important? Because a lot of things we can learn from Hebrew is from the root of the word. Like the word yowreh for the winter rain or the early rain. Don't forget, the early rain is to cause the seed to bud, to germinate. It softens the ground for the seed to germinate, amen? It is for sowing time. The spring rain, the latter rain is for harvest time. And in Hebrew, the latter rain is the word malkosh and the word means to harvest or to gather everything. This year, you will gather everything, not just some, everything, amen? To gather everything, malkosh. It's also to despoil the enemy of everything. The word "despoil" is there. And you put them together, the time of sowing and the time of reaping, the Bible says we are now ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain.
So, definitely the Holy Spirit was poured out in the early rain, the day of Pentecost, now we're expecting a greater outpouring in the time of the latter rain, amen. A greater harvest of souls and also the Bible says, moreh, where we get the noun of the yowreh for early rain, okay, the word yowreh, the word moreh comes from it, it's always for rain. And here when it says he has given you the former rain, it's the word "moreh". One of two times it appears in the Old Testament. So, obvious it's very important.
Today when you go to Israel, you go to a children's school, all right, primary school there and you hear the children saying to the teacher, "Shalom, moreh," which means peace to you, teacher. They don't say good morning, good evening. They say, "Shalom, moreh," which means hello or peace to you, teacher. Moreh is teacher, it's from the word rain because when you teach, it's like rain. I'm not referring to the first row here. We call the first row here the spit zone, okay? You know why the spit zone, right? They are blessed and when they are blessed, doesn't come like geshem, heavy downpour, thank God. It comes as sprinkling, amen? Oh, look at that, his face is shining, hallelujah. Sprinkling, all right?
So, teaching is like that. It's like word that go into your heart. In fact, the word yowreh is also to shoot, shoot arrows. So, a good teacher will go for the heart. You know, always remember that when someone argues with you about the Scriptures, about the Lord and all that, don't talk to them based on their head. Talk to them to their heart, amen? How many know that your heart catches things faster than your head? Your heart knows something is true long before your head. Your head can still be in doubt and that's why faith can work in your heart, even though when you have doubts in your head. Your head always plays catch up. Sometimes you get a revelation from God's Word.
You say, "I always knew that this is true, yet Pastor Prince just put words to it. But in my heart, I know it's true, but my head cannot understand. I cannot reason out. Now I can reason it. Now I can see it in the Scriptures". So, how many know your heart is faster than your head? And long before you know someone is not good, someone is not sincere, many a times, you know, children are very quick because their heart is alive, you know, their intuition is alive. And that's how God wants to lead us, which is another part of the grain, wine, and oil, amen, intuitive. You follow your heart. Don't listen to your head. Your head can reason you out of the place of faith. Your head can logic yourself out of the place of blessing, amen.
Listen to your heart. For a believer it is God who works in you, both giving you the willingness and the performance of it. You don't have to hear God's voice from outside. Many a times what is from outside is the devil's voice. He can impersonate the voice of God and usually it's a driving thing, "You must do this, you must do that, must do it now". It's very restless but God's voice is from within because the Holy Spirit is in you, amen. So, it is God who works in you the desire and then the performance of it.
A couple gets married, they have no desire to have kids. A few years pass and then all of a sudden, God works in them the willingness, amen. They might hold another person's baby and all that and then they have a desire all of a sudden. Amen, that's how God works, in the right season. Listen to your heart. "Listen to your heart". Hey, that sounds familiar, amen? And salespeople, remember this, don't talk to people's heads, talk to their hearts. Their heart is closer to the wallet.
So, here, we have the word the former rain faithfully, again, the word "faithfully" doesn't make sense. Thank God that in the Hebrew and Young's Translation bring this out, it actually says God will first give you the teacher of righteousness, the teaching of righteousness. And he will cause the rain to come down, all right, the early rain and the latter rain. The teaching of righteousness, we know that the teacher of righteousness came, his name is Jesus, amen? By the way, the heavy downpour, the word "geshem" is actually the word from the root word gashmoo, which is actually the word for incarnation or manifestation. You see, rain in the cloud, you can't feel it. It's not tangible.
In the Old Testament, God followed them in the wilderness in a pillar of cloud. He was up there and they could not touch him, they could not feel him. But the word gashmoo for heavy rain is when the clouds release the rain and the rains come down, Jesus gashmoo, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He became tangible. We could touch him, feel him, see what God is like. Jesus says here, "Seen me, has seen the Father," amen? So, he's the manifestation. Many times the root word, the etymology of the word in Hebrew is full of hidden nuggets, full of treasures. I love to go to the root, amen?
Years ago, I was wondering what is the root? And usually the root is only made of three letters, amen? Many of the Hebrew words, the root of those words are made of three letters. And, for example, I was studying on healing Rapha, Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals you. Rapha is the Hebrew word for healing. So, I was considering the etymology. I went to it, it says Rapha, with a hei at the end, all right? There's the etymology. And what is Rapha? Rapha is let go, relax. In other words, the root of healing is relax, let go. And how many know that many people who are tense, who are uptight, who are worried, who are anxious, who are stressed, they are more prone to falling sick? But the root of healing is let go. Relack, bro. Relax, let go, amen? Take a deep breath, let go, amen?
The other day I passed by my refrigerator and on top it says, "When I work, God rests. When I rest, God works". Many years ago, God gave me that caption and God says, "Son, if you work, I rest but if you rest, I work, now you choose," amen? The Sinaitic covenant, the old covenant, we're not under the old covenant. We're not under law, but under grace but under law, it is man working, "You shall not, you shall not, you shall not," amen? But in the new covenant, God says, "I will, I will, I will". What about man's part? Man rests, amen? Which covenant do you enjoy? "But when I rest, nothing happens, pastor".
That is true if you're without God but with God, and all of you have the Lord in your life. When you rest, God works in the giving you the willingness and the performance of that. How do you know your gifts? If you like working among children, for example, who gave you the desire? Deep down you want to work among children but here you are, you're doing something else, amen? Go for your heart because that's how God works, amen. That's where your giftings are. That's where your zone of greatest favor is, amen. If you enjoy doing that, amen, God will also gave you the willingness and he'll give you the performance of it. Can I have a good amen? Praise the Lord.
You know, I just want to pause here for a while and I want us to pray. The Bible says in Timothy, "Let us pray, first of all, making intercessions for kings and for all those who are in authority, that they may lead a quiet and peaceful life". And that's, I just feel in my spirit that spiritually speaking, like our government right now is in the place of pressure, in a place of... let's pray for our government, amen? Let's pray that God will give us favor and success and cause the Word of the Lord to have free course in that nation, in that his righteousness will exalt this nation.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I lift up all our leaders to your hands, Father, and I ask in the name of Jesus that your shalom peace will garrison their hearts and minds. And I pray, Father God, that you'll grant them the wisdom, Lord, that you gave Solomon, wisdom to govern, wisdom to see things long before it happens, wisdom to know how to say things and how to implement things as well, Father, wisdom to ignore voices that are just condemning, accusing, wisdom to know what is the right way, Father. I pray, Father, that we will live a life, Father, that is peaceable, quiet life, Lord, in Singapore, free from strife, free from terror. Father, protect our nation from all harm and danger, prosper our nation. And Father, let your righteousness exalt this nation. Let it be a lighthouse, a beacon of hope, a testimony of grace to other nations around. Father, you use this things that are small to confound the mighty. Be it so for our nation, Father, and bless our leaders and their families and grant them health and longevity, Lord, that the wisdom by which you gave them can be perpetuated, Lord, in the years to come. In the name of Jesus, we pray. And all the people said, amen.
Okay, I got that off my spirit. I just feel like the Lord wants us to do that and let's honor our leaders. The Bible says when Paul wrote this by the Holy Spirit in Romans he says, "Let every soul be subject to a higher power". Remember at that time, they were under the Romans, all right? Our government is not anything like Romans. Romans is severe. And yet Paul says, "Let every soul be subject," amen. When King Saul was already possessed by an evil spirit, David still honored. It's important that we honor. This world that we live in where everyone can just attack one another on social media and all that, all right, no matter how right you are, you are wrong when your spirit is wrong.
Remember, honor, honor your father and mother. Honor those that God have placed in authority. Do not let the spirit of the new age come into your heart and your soul, amen? In Jesus's name, honor, honor. You may disagree with some people and all that but if that puts you in honor, honor. And all the people said, amen. Excuse me, "Amen, Pastor Prince, preach it, hallelujah". Okay, okay, okay, I got that released already, praise God. Okay watch, because there is a spirit of dishonor coming to families, into nations and all that. And we know that honor comes from God, amen. God wants us to honor even one another and those in authority.
Okay, the teaching of righteousness will come first and then he will cause the rain, geshem, to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain. So, the teaching of righteousness must go forth and righteousness today is not performance righteousness. It is the gift of righteousness because the Son of God became sin at the cross that you and I might become the righteousness of God in him. And all the people said, amen. Now, what is this snow that comes down and rain that comes down and it prospers? Let's keep reading, let's go back. By the way, the threshing floor should be full of wheat and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
So, wheat speaks of bread. Wine speaks of the blood of the Jesus, so here we have the communion and oil is the power of the Holy Spirit. I'm gonna read to you a testimony and it's an amazing testimony, and I believe the couple is here. Ariel, if you are here, just acknowledge, wave. Oh, right there, under my nose, praise the Lord. And Kevin, they are from Taiwan, and Ariel has been doing translation for me for the my broadcast in China, all right? It's not her voice. She helps to translate and she's been doing this for nearly five years now. Anyway, this is her testimony. It's so good to have you both here, still looking good.
My family and I had always wanted another child but as the time went by, I gave up because I was already past 40 and it's not easy for women my age to conceive in the natural. One day my younger daughter asked me when I would have another child so I told her to pray and that God will give us one. That night I couldn't sleep. I did a pregnancy test and realized that I was pregnant. However, during the first checkup with the gynecologist, we were told that the fetus had no heartbeat and that it was common for woman of my age to produce eggs that were not as healthy as younger mothers. Furthermore, it will not be my first time losing a child, as I've had two miscarriages before. We were told to wait for another week to see if the fetus had any heartbeat, if not, I should have a procedure to remove it. By then, I had been listening to and translating Pastor Prince's messages for four-and-a-half years.
So, I believe she knows all our Singlish by now.
Besides being blessed by his preaching on the grace of God, I was also deeply impacted by his teachings on the Holy Communion. Though I have been a Christian almost all my life, I never known the true meaning of the Communion until I heard Pastor Prince's teachings. During the following week, we prayed, partook of the Holy Communion, and believed God for a miracle. At the next checkup, the fetus still had no heartbeat and I was told to make an appointment for the procedure. I hesitated because I had not worked out our daughter's child care arrangements with my husband, but the gynecologist thought it was because I was too heartbroken and I said I could wait for another week before going on with the procedure. During this time, we prayed with the girls and told them that we would still get to see the baby in heaven, even if he was not born. I continued to pray for peace in my heart and listened to Pastor Prince's messages. I went for a third checkup and this time, there was a heartbeat.
Praise the Lord.
Even the doctor was surprised. By that time, I should have been eight weeks pregnant, but the doctor said that my baby was the size of a six-week-old fetus. I believe it was because the baby was revived and started to grow again when we started to partake of the Communion. Our miracle baby boy was born healthy and happy.
Look up here. Show them another picture. And the entire family, all the children. What a blessing, amen? In the year of the latter rain, this is gonna happen the you. You're gonna partake the same way, amen? Don't give up, they could have given up, amen? Now, I lost a baby like this in the sense that no heartbeat, okay, she's now in heaven, I think it's a she. She's now in heaven. She's growing up there. And like David, I say she can't come to me, but one day I'll go to her amen, in the Rapture, I'll go to her, right? So, we have had losses, but the loss should not cause us not to be believe the best that God has for us.
You know, for the Christian even when you lose, you win. If somebody doesn't get their manifestation and they pass on to be with Jesus, they're in the better place than we are. We have grown accustomed to this encumbrance of this body. We have grown accustomed to all the limitations in this world, that we learn the to be at home in this world, but we do not know what it's like there, amen? And best of all, Jesus is there, amen? So, one day we'll all be there, praise the Lord. So, it's a year where there's gonna be an abundance of revelation.
The Bible says when the rain comes, "The threshing floor should be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil". Bread, wine, and oil, the revelation of the Communion and the anointing of the Holy Spirit leading you and guiding you in the affairs of life, amen? All the people said, amen. Now, the thought, how does, you know, people say, "Pastor Prince, you need to preach more on repentance". What is repentance? In the Hebrew, in the Old Testament it's the word "t'shuvah", right? In the Greek, repentance is the word "metanoia". Now, meta is behind or to change, noia is your mind, nous, noia, Metanoia means change your mind.
It's that, but, of course, like many other definitions down through the years some people say, "I think I want to add this to it so people will not take advantage of this simple statement, or I'll try". So, it becomes so confounded that the whole thing is just simply changing your mind, amen? Just like grace, right now people are trying to redefine grace. They say that grace is not just unmerited favor, it is. The Bible defines it is if it's by grace, it's no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. If it's of works, it's no more grace, otherwise works is no more works, unmerited favor, amen? Unmerited favor will empower you, but it's unmerited favor. You cannot define it as enable-ment or whatever, amen, it is not. It is actually unmerited favor.
So, people like to add to it and add to it and add it to until it is beyond recognition. Same thing here, what is repentance? Look at this, Isaiah 55 it says, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts". So, ways and thoughts, how do I forsake my way and how do I forsake my thoughts? "Let him return to the Lord, And He'll have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon". Now, man's ways and mans thoughts, that's where we need to turn away from, man's ways and man's thoughts. "But Pastor Prince, I do not know what kind of thoughts God want me to turn from, and what are my ways that's wrong or in error that I have to turn away from".
So, what is it? It's all in the context. If we read the Bible, the Bible always explains itself. Here it says, "'Return to the Lord, And He'll have mercy on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts,'" God says, "'are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord". Did you get that? I'll try again. "For He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts". Notice, he will abundantly pardon. In other words, "My thoughts are not like your thoughts. You think I will pardon you grudgingly, but I will pardon you abundantly".
In the Hebrew the word there is freely and abundantly forgive. So, God says, "Your thoughts are not like my thoughts. Your thoughts are too low. My thoughts are like the heaven's higher than the earth, so are my thoughts. You are thinking, I will forgive you. Some of you think that yes, I'm a forgiving God, but I only forgive after you go through a lot of spiritual exercises, after you feel bad enough, after you do this, after you do that. You don't think that I forgive willingly. You don't think that I forgive freely. But I'm here to tell you," God is saying, "my thoughts are this. It's far above your thoughts. I will freely and abundantly pardon because my thoughts are not your thoughts".
Do you get it? The "for" there means because. It is tied up to the preceding verse that says, he will abundantly pardon because God says, "I will freely forgive. I will abundantly forgive because my thoughts are not your thoughts". Do you know why God will freely and abundantly forgive? It's all paid for. God loved you so much, God sent his Son to become your sin substitute on that cross. And when he was on that cross, everything that was meant for you in judgment, terror, punishment, all fell on Jesus instead.
Now, through the blood of Jesus, God has a righteous foundation. It was God who planned this. It was God who loved his Son so. You'll never know how much God loves you until you know how much God loves his Son because God gave up his Son for you, the very same Son that he opened up the heavens. And I love the way the Bible says he opened the heavens to him at the river baptism, the river Jordan. And Jesus came out of the river and the Father says, "You are my beloved Son. In you, I am well pleased".
I now have a son, Justin, and I have a beautiful daughter, and I love them both with a passion and they are well pleasing to me. Even now I can say this from my heart, they are well pleasing to me. But imagine God saying to his Son, "In you, I am well pleased," and this Son, he sent to die for our sins, how much God loves you? You can tell how you're loved by what you're willing to give up, and God is willing to give up Jesus, not because he didn't love Jesus, he loved Jesus with a passion, amen. But the gave him up for you. Now, do you understand why God will freely and abundantly pardon? Many a times, our thoughts don't come high enough.
You know, we still hear, "I believe God forgives, but you must do this, you must do that, you must do that, you must do this". And when God forgives, right, it's just that he forgives you he says, "You better watch out for now, ah". It's not a free forgiveness, it's not an abundant forgiveness. Many a times the act is spoiled by the style. Let me explain, have you ever had treat from people, people give you a treat, but then they give you, "Ah, okay now, you asked me for a treat last time, right, I gave you already". They bought you a treat. The act is there, but the style mars the act, it spoils the act. It's not just the act, it's the style. So, when God forgives, it's the style that he forgives, freely and abundantly that our thoughts don't come high enough to his thoughts.
Remember the story of the woman who came to a Pharisee's house when Jesus was there, dining with the Pharisee, and she wept at Jesus's feet and she wiped his feet with her hair? And then Jesus perceived the thoughts of the Pharisee against this woman and how he was thinking, "If this is a holy man, if he is a prophet, he will know what kind of woman this is". Obviously, she was a woman of ill repute. And Jesus says, "Simon," the name of the Pharisee, "there was once". Let's follow the story. He says, "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii," and that's about one-and-a-half, slightly more than one-half year's wage. "And the other fifty," about two months' plus wage. "And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more"?
The one who is forgiven less or the one that's forgiven more? More, right? The one who's forgiven more will love him more. It's not a trick question, people, it's not a trick question. It's a simple straightforward question, all right? So, the Pharisee does not think of showing Jesus much love because he doesn't think he have much sin, but actually he did. That woman knew her sins which were much, many were freely forgiven. But I love the style of the forgiveness. When they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave. Look at the style of forgiveness. Look at the way the Lord forgives. Look at the way God forgives us, freely forgive.
Now, it's free to us but it cost God his Son, amen? For us. God cannot just say, "Boys will be boys, sweep everything under the carpet," no. Sin must be punished. We must be forgiven on a righteous foundation. God has to forgive us judicially, amen? When he forgives us, it must glorify all his attributes of holiness and righteousness as well. All the claims of divine holiness on our lives must be fully met and Jesus met it all at the cross. The cross answers it all, amen? But look at the way God forgives, freely forgives. In one of the greatest chapters in the Bible, I consider is one of the greatest chapters, chapter 15. Right after the Pharisees came near to Jesus, the Bible says in chapter 15 the first verse, "Then drew near to Jesus the sinners".
Obviously, they're the social outcasts. And then Jesus shared this parable and in this parable, three parables in Luke 15, you have the good shepherd who left the 99 to find the one. Then you have the woman who lost her coin, out of ten coins, lost the silver coin. Then the third, y'all know the famous story of the prodigal son and the father. Do you see the triune God here, Father, Son, father, and Holy Spirit. You see Jesus, the good shepherd here? The woman who sweeped the house to find the lost coin... "all over the earth the Spirit is moving". He's sweeping, amen, looking for you and the Father.
So, you have the Father, you have the Son, you have the Holy Spirit, the triune God in one chapter and what a lovely chapter. It wins the heart. It starts off with a shepherd and don't forget, Jesus himself is sharing these parables to illustrate his love and the Father's love. He says that a shepherd, if he lost one sheep and he has a hundred sheep, will he not leave the 99 and find the one? Answer is no. No shepherd will do that except one, the good shepherd. Most shepherds will not risk losing another one. They will factor in their costs and say, "Okay, one lost today, okay," but they'll not leave the 99. But Jesus will look out for you, even if you're one, amen. He will leave the 99 and he'll look for the one.
And I love the way the Bible says, "He will look until he finds it". Friend, he will find you, amen? You say, "You know what? I found the Lord last night at this meeting". No, he's not lost. Actually, he found you, amen. The Lord arranged such a way that you'll be found, and he will seek you until he finds it. But notice after he finds it, there's a lot of ways to deal with the sheep, right or not? You can actually scold the sheep, amen, and do a Singaporean style of scolding, right? "Learn your lesson or not, huh? See what happened, now it smell right, smells smelly, right? Cold right, hungry right"?
You see, you forgive because you went to look for him, what, so obviously you still love him. The sheep knows you love him, but the style is spoiled and you carry him. Now, is the sheep saved now? Yes. Does it matter how you put the sheep on your shoulder? Whether you do it happily, or grudgingly, or angrily, the sheep is safe. The sheep is still safe regardless of how you put it. But who dare, who can part with that one beautiful word? He lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. Who will part with this word, rejoicing? The style of the forgiveness is like, "I found you. I found you, I found you. Hey, hey, I found you. I'm so sorry, I'm so", He's going, "I found you, you are found. I'm so happy".
The style of it, you see whether he rejoice or he's grumpy, the sheep is still safe on his shoulders, but no one will dare want to part with that beautiful word "rejoicing". Our thoughts of his forgiveness, even though we are Christians we say that we understand his forgiveness, it's still very low. We think that, you know, yeah he forgive. "Finally he'll forgive, I know". You see your thoughts are not like his thoughts. His thoughts like the heavens are higher than the earth, amen, not just freely forgive but forgive rejoicing. He finds you, he rejoices, not one word about, huh?
Then the next one is the woman who lost one out of ten coins, silver coins and a coin is distinctive by its image, amen. Man was created in the image of God, the image has been marred that and coin is lost but the Bible says this woman, "What woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it"? Does she seek it diligently or carelessly? By the way, the Old King James, actually I've stuck to the Old King James which I study a lot. It says, "She seeks it diligently". Here it says, "search carefully".
Does she look for it carelessly with indifference, with a slipshod attitude? No, she searched carefully. Old King James, seek diligently or else we'll never be found. God put his heart and soul into it. And then we have the father. Y'all know the story of the prodigal son left home. In essence he's telling his father, "Give me my inheritance". In other words, "You are too strong, you're too healthy, I can't wait for you to die". And then the father gave him his inheritance. Y'all know the story. He went riotous living with harlots and careless lifestyle. And, you know, when his money ran out, his friends ran out. Y'all know the story and he found himself in the pigpen.
Finally he says, you know, "I'll arise and go to my father. At my father's house, there's bread enough and to spare". And the Bible says this, "When the father saw him, he arose and came to his father but when he was still a great way off". This is not just a way off, it's a great way off, his father saw him. That tells us the father was always and every day scanning the horizon. Do you see a God that's always waiting? Even though your life has been messed up, you have purposely turned your back against him in essence you say, "I don't want anything to do with you," amen? And he's still scanning the horizon for you. "And when he saw him a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran".
Now, stop here. Run, that means the father, usually they're quite elderly. He has to lift up his robe, right? So, in other words, he will lay aside his parental dignity to give way to his parental love and affections. That's what God did for us. He laid aside his glory and came down to save us, amen? So, the father ran. Look at the style. I mean, it's forgiveness enough. "Wait, wait, wait for him to come, wait, ah, ah, now walk slow, ah, they finally come close, ah, ah". And we Singaporeans are famous for our monosyllable, that's one word, how? Look at the son, the son's all smelly, and dirty, and holes everywhere, okay, okay? We go, then the son stop halfway, "Can? Go".
Hey, it's still good enough, isn't it? That means the father did not say, "You know, I'm sorry, forget it, you know, you cannot come back". I mean it's still forgiveness, right? But the style of it is cold. This is not, this doesn't satisfy God's heart. This does not satisfy the God of the universe, the God who loves us so who sent his Son to die for us, the one who says, "My thoughts are not like your thoughts. The way you think of me, the way you think of my forgiveness is not like the way I think," amen? Oh, for words to express God's thoughts. How can just mere man express his thoughts and his ways? God gave me the words in Jesus's name.
How is it so that a God, who has myriads of angels, cares so much for the one that's lost and will search for that one diligently? And don't even wait for the one to walk towards him, but he will run to the person, right? Now, the Bible says he ran, but you see, let's see your son coming back, right? You see the father running, right? "Oh, he's running to wake me up," right? It can be like that, isn't it? Am I right? Come on, "Oh, he can't wait to beat me up, oh my goodness, see the way he run. He's gonna beat me up," right, right? The father is running. The father is running, running and then the Bible says he fell on his neck or in the Greek, it is one word embraced him.
It's the same word used when Peter preached in Cornelius's house in Caesarea and the Bible says when Peter said these parts, these words, "Through Jesus, you receive the forgiveness of sins," The Bible says when they heard these words, the Holy Spirit fell. Same word used in the Greek is the word the Holy Spirit embraced. That's why when you preach on the Word of grace, the Holy Spirit loves it. He comes and embrace the people into wholeness and they started speaking in tongues in Cornelius's house. Does that satisfy God? No, he need to show the son the kind of forgiveness he has, and the Bible says he kissed him.
In the Amplified Bible, A.T. Robertson's comments, and all the rest in the Greek. It's not just to kiss him, but to kiss him again and again and not only that, kiss him passionately, kiss him fervently, kiss him, kiss him, kiss him, again and again and again. Do you see the heart of God? "But he used your money. Father, father, he said in essence, drop dead. Father, he doesn't care about you". We can say a lot of things, but our thoughts are not like his thoughts. We demand justice unless it's us, lah. We demand justice for other people. We judge others by their actions, we judge ourself by our intention.
"My intention, I didn't mean that way," but we judge others, so we, our thoughts are so lowly, we don't come high enough to his thoughts. How does God forgive? He kisses you repeatedly. The son doesn't have to say anything. From then on actually, there's not one word recorded of the son anymore. After he said, "Make me one of your hired servants," the father ignored those words. From then on, there's not one word from him. "Bring forth the best robe. Put the ring on his finger". Not, "If you qualify, you'll be on probation for one month, or three months, or six months". Still got time, right? I mean, still forgiveness, right? But those thoughts are not his thoughts.
♪There once stood a wall deep and wide tall and strong. There it stood built of all our uncleanness. But this man by his blood broke the wall loosed the flood of the mercies of God for all mankind ♪
It's been loose ever since, hallelujah. And the heart of God flows like a torrential flood, unabated, unheld. We think God tore the veil for man to come in. God tore the veil to step out. The very thing he cannot step out but to kill man because when he steps out in his holiness, man will die. He cannot step out because of mercy to man because man cannot come up to his standard, so he kept himself in the Holy of Holies. But when Jesus died, the veil was torn by an unseen hand from top to bottom to signify man didn't tear it, God tore it, and God stepped out and God says, "Welcome home"! The same blood that tore the veil removed your sins perfectly, whiter than snow. Snow can blind you already, whiter than snow. What a great God.
"Well, Pastor Prince, if you keep on preaching like this, people will say, if God freely forgives, I can do whatever I want". Again, your thoughts are not like his thoughts. His thoughts is like preach the truth and people will live the truth. When people believe right, they will live right. It's because they don't understand the forgiveness of God. They have a lower concept of the forgiveness of God and that's why they're still going on in sin. But Jesus himself said those who know they are forgiven much will love him much. Isn't that the fulfillment of the very first commandment? You shall love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength.
A few days ago, I was at this time Indian restaurant in Little India. I love to eat there. And I'm a very simple guy. You go to Hawker Center, most likely you'll meet me, okay? I was there and a lady stepped in and beautiful lady, a mother, and she had a baby in her arms. So, we started talking and fellowshipping. She's from our church and all that. And she asked me a question, you know, about how we don't teach like too much on lifestyle, okay?
And like for example, taming the tongue, for example, about taming the tongue. And do you know it's amazing that she just came not too long ago. It's not like she's been here for ten years so I had to explain to her. And she was a beautiful lady. She understood clearly. And I told her that how the tongue, for example, the tongue. I said, "Have you tried that? Have you tried taming your tongue"? In fact, the Bible says the passage about taming the tongue, that passage says the tongue can no man tame. The more you try to tame your tongue, the more you see yourself speaking caustically, I mean, bitingly or sarcasm comes out to your loved ones even, to your family members. The more you try to tame, the worse it is. The trying is putting yourself under the law.
So, does that mean that I let go and let nothing happen? No, the thing is this, if you know the New Covenant is that he will do the willingness and the performance of it. You rest in him. You say, "Lord, I got a tongue problem but I'm not gonna focus on it. I'm gonna trust you to tame it. I'm gonna trust you to put the words if my mouth," Amen. You got a colleague you don't like and every time the colleague says something and you burst, before you go, say, "Lord, you love the colleague through me. I rest in you". When you rest, he works. When you work, he rests. Remember that principle, amen?
And she brought also like put to death the deeds of the body. I say that it does not say that, actually. It says, "If you therefore mortify the deeds," the therefore is always the first few chapters. You must know who you are in Christ. You must know how forgiven you are. You must know your place seated in Christ, then comes the walk. If the seat is faulty, the walk is faulty. If the seat is good, the walk is good. But the walk never comes before the seat. And that's why in this pulpit we emphasize a lot on the seat because if the seat is right, the walk will be right. Do we understand this phrase?
For example, "If you through the spirit mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live," Romans 8. Do we understand that? We say, "Yeah, yeah, Pastor Prince, we must mortify". No, it does not say we mortify the deeds. Read carefully, if you through the spirit mortify the deeds of the body, what does that mean? Follow the promptings of the spirit, the oil, the grain, the wine, then the oil, which I'll be doing in my future teachings. When you learn to follow the Spirit, the deeds of the body will be mortified, amen, amen. Are y'all learning, people?
So, we go back now to Isaiah 55. So, how many love the Lord? Why do you love the Lord? Imagine me telling Justin, "Justin, if you don't love me, ah, I'll beat you up". Now, does that inspire love in him? Of course, not. You know, people have this idea that, you know, you can threaten people into love. You cannot. But you know what I can do? "Justin, I love you. Even you've done wrong, I will always love you. Remember Justin, look here, Justin, look here, daddy loves you, always remember daddy loves you. Even when you do wrong, daddy still loves you. I don't want you to do wrong because I love you, right, but even you do wrong, I still love you". There becomes tears in his eyes sometimes, amen?
Now, we love because he first loved us. So, it's easy to preach, "Don't do this, don't do that, do this, do that," very easy, you don't need the Holy Spirit. But to talk about the beauty of Jesus and to elucidate on his finished work, that takes the Holy Spirit, okay? Thank God you're in good church. So, let's go on. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways". Don't forget, it's connected with abundantly pardon. Drop down, verse 9, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts". So, we like to use this verse out of context. "You know, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God's ways and God's thoughts than our ways and thoughts".
Right, you hear this sometimes as if no one can understand. No, he tells us the thoughts of God is always about forgiveness. Our thoughts about justice, judgment, fairness, until we are in the picture. We cannot believe that God will forgive freely. He will kiss us repeatedly. "For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven," good thing that God didn't drop all his concentrated wisdom, condensed wisdom and all of us. We can't take it. Our minds are too finite but he let it drop, a drop at a time like rain and snow from heaven. "And does not return there as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, it does not return there but water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater".
I love this. Always remember, you know why you have bread? There's been some sowing. It's not just seed to the one who sowed, past tense. It's seed to the sower. Make your life a life of sowing and then you'll always be harvesting, and also bread to the eater. Oh, Singaporeans, feed the category of eaters. They are good eaters. They freely eat. They abundantly eat. They eat repeatedly, imperfect, again and again. "And it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be. That's how my Word is, my Word will go. That's how my Word will be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it," amen.
So, God promised that his Word will prosper wherever it goes. If you receive God's Word, it is prosper in your life, amen? But have you received God's Word? You see, you want to be wet, but you're not under the rain. Let's say rain is the showers of blessings and you are so dry and you feel dry. Your life is dry, your pocket is dry, everything is dry, but you're not under the rain. Get under the rain. Can I have a good amen? What is the rain? The Word of God. Deuteronomy 32, verse 2, "My doctrine will drop as the rain. It will distill as the dew of heaven," amen?
So, rain is a picture of teaching. An abundance of rain in the year of the latter rain is actually abundance of good teachings that will cause you to inherit all that Jesus died for you to have, amen, amen? And then it says this, next verse, "For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace". Right after you receive the Word of God, the Word of forgiveness, the Word of grace, you will go out with joy and be led, led, led, led with peace. Don't be led by voices outside. Don't be led by signs outside.
One lady she got married because she was praying about someone to marry someone who's been proposing to her and going after her. She's not too sure and she prayed and she saw a shooting star. Instead of the listening to the peace or the lack of peace within, why? God will lead you from within? Because he's in you. Greater is he that's in you. You're a child of God. Now in the Old Testament, what they didn't have. Even David, a man after God's heart, never had the Holy Spirit inside him, but the blood of Jesus will so cleansed you that the Holy Spirit can indwell you. In the upper room Jesus said, the Holy Spirit that is with you shall be in you forever and that's where he's gonna lead us, not with a voice.
Closeness sometimes I look at my wife, my wife look at me, we understand. When you look across a crowded room, you don't understand. We understand, amen? It's very close communication. There's a peace or lack of peace. You shall go out with joy. The result of receiving the Word of grace is that you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace. Always be led by peace. Before you sign anything, be led by peace. Before you make a purchase, be led by peace. You say that, "I'd really like to have that thing but I'm not so sure whether, you know, I have enough money to pay and all that". It's better to have the peace than that object.
Sometimes downsizing a little bit, giving up one car for the peace is better than having something for the appearance, to impress people who don't care. We live such a life, you know, of social media, trying to get people to like, like us. Please press like, please press like, like, like, like, like, you know? How did all this monstrosity start? I really do not know. But since when you live your life in front of people that don't really care, whose comments you do not take seriously, who never spoke into your life, nor should you take their comments seriously. Don't give gravitas, don't give weight to what they're saying because you are the one that gives weight. He doesn't have the weight, you have the glory, not him.
Jesus gave you the glory. Glory means weight. Be careful who you give weight to. When you talk about command, you actually publicize and give weight to the command. You look at a group and you talk about them all the time, they flourish. "Pastor, why didn't you address this group"? Because I don't want to lend my glory. "Pastor, these people are saying about you that", I don't mention them, why? I'll lend them my glory. Glory is kabod, which means weightiness. Be careful who you give weight to. When your wife talks, give weight.
That one guy, you know, he was quarreling with his wife and he came to his pastor he said, "My wife always quarrels with me, you know, and shell gets historical". The pastor said, "What? You mean hysterical". "No, historical, she always brings up my past". The word "curse" in the Hebrew is to make light, the opposite of weight. If you take lightly what someone says, you don't pay attention to their presence. In essence, you're cursing them. So, when your child is in front of you, give weight, put down the newspaper, look at them. Don't take them lightly. Give gravitas, give weight. Be led with peace, follow the peace.
It's better for you not to do something. What's the point, you know, you have the extra nice car or whatever and all that and you are excited about it for a few months, your friends are excited for a few months. One day, you know, you gotta pay for it and finish paying and you're struggling. No one cares anymore. Isn't it better to have the peace? And doesn't mean you downsize, you're always like that at that level. First of all, there's a land of debt, then there's a land of even, then there's a land of milk and honey, overflowing, land of prosperity. No one jumps from the land of debt to the land of prosperity. You must come to the land of even. Pay off your debts one by one. Pay off your credit cards debt then from the land of even, you go to land of prosperity, amen?
Praise the Lord, good preaching. "Good, preach it Pastor Prince, hallelujah". All right, all right, okay, don't take up much time, my time, okay? It's vital that we understand that the primary way God leads us is the presence or absence of peace. That's why children are very good at this. They're intuitively like a person they don't like but sometimes if Justin doesn't like someone, I don't blame him. He runs away from someone, all right, and don't always tell him, okay, you must be friendly, must be friendly.
Kids sometimes can tell when someone is my kid run away from you, please don't take it personal, okay? He's not always right either. But I'm saying, sometimes there are people who say, "Come, come, let me bring you home. Come, your mother is sick". Or kids that are prone just to believing everything. So, it's good your child has a bit of... when their spirit is alive. The relative must not force them to like. Says, "Okay, ah, all right, I won't say". He's using his discernment on you, and I won't say that of course.
Kids gravitate towards Jesus in the gospels. They will sit on his lap. Then what's gonna happen? The mountains and the hills will break forth into singing before you. People that really matter in your life, people with weightage in your family or, you know, people really matter to you because mountains are always pictures of kingdoms or people in high places, mountains and hills will break forth into singing. When you receive the Word and you step out, being led, step out in joy and being led with peace, the mountain and the hills will broke forth into singing before you and all the trees of the field, trees of the field speaks of people. They will clap their hands when you pass by, amen?
That's why trees, God made trees to signify man, that's why their hands are like, their branches. They praise God all the time, whereas sometimes they sway in the wind and they're praising God. And God made man and man is like that. After they are like that for a while, they are like that. They are like that for a while, they are like that. For 18 years, that woman was like that. Eighteen is six plus six plus six by the way, and the first person that she, when Jesus raised her up and healed her of that condition was the face of Jesus. It's time to face up, look up, trust God. The year of the latter rain's gonna be a great year for you, amen? I'll bring this to a close.
In case you're wondering, "Pastor Prince, if people think that, people know they're forgiven so much, even their tomorrow sins are forgiven, won't this cause a lifestyle of sins in their life, careless living"? Well, remember the New Covenant? We're under the New Covenant. Show them the portrait of the New Covenant. "Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I'll make a New Covenant, the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not according to the mosaic covenant, the Ten Commandments, that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt because they did not continue in my covenant and I disregarded them, says the Lord".
God cannot but disregard them because they were under the commandment of the law. They were under the law. "For this is the covenant that I'll make with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord, I'll put my laws that their mind and write them on their hearts". In other words, there'll be an internal guidance. See, the law says don't commit adultery. It does not say love your wife. There are those who don't commit adultery, but they don't love their wives. There are those who don't commit adultery because no money. There are those who don't commit adultery because no opportunity. There are a lot of reason. God doesn't want you, nobody gives the opportunity, you know what I'm saying?
I mean there are, but the right reason is that the New Covenant, God performs the desire inside, the new love for your husband, the new love for your wife, and then you don't want to commit adultery because deep down in your heart, even the very thought of in your mind, she doesn't even know your mind, right? But even the very thought of you, it repels you. That is true holiness, that's what God works in you. So, God promised he will put his internal guidance in us, number one, all right? "I'll put my laws in their hearts and write them fleshly hearts, tables, fleshly tables of hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be my people".
What does it mean I'll be their God? When you are sick and God says, "I am your God," you are healed. If you are broke and good says, "I am your God," he will be your shepherd and you will not lack. When you are confused, and troubled, and stressed out and he says, "I'll be your God," you will have shalom, Jehovah Shalom. When he says, "I'll be your God," it signifies, "All my resources will be at your disposal. Your need is just the place for my supply," wow. I will, the first one, internal guidance. "I will be their God," second clause.
All this is in your New Covenant, better study this, you know? It's amazing that many places that sell the Ten Commandments in Christian bookshops, they should sell this. This is my idea, by the way, if you see it, ah, give some credit, ah, in this form. The third clause, "None of them shall teach his neighbor and none his brother saying, know the Lord". And the word "know" here is ginosko. Know the by effort, know by trial and error, know by effort, all right? "But they shall all know me, none shall teach, know the Lord, know the Lord by effort, but all shall know me".
This "know" here is different, oida, they will know me intuitively, why? Because "for" in the Greek is the word hoti, which means because of this is the reason. The reason is because, "I'll be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds I'll remember no more". God is no more dealing with you and I based on sin because the sin is all taken care of at the cross. And the more you believe that, this is what activates God writing on your heart, the internal guidance. This is what activates God being your God when you're in trouble, amen?
This is what causes you to know God, it's the forgiveness of sins. But if the last clause is faulty, you don't really believe he forgives all your sins, or you believe he forgives you with conditions, or you've heard teachings that says, "You are forgiven from the day you are born, until the day you receive Christ. From then on it's a piece meal basis, you must catch your sins, confess them, and then you don't confess, you don't know about, conveniently they say God will understand".
You know, I mean that kind of future is faulty, then God cannot write on your heart. If the last clause is faulty, the other clauses becomes faulty. There's nothing for us to do but to believe. Do you see that? So, there's a safety clause here. People will not go crazy. The more they know the forgiveness of God, the more they fall in love with him. The more they fall in love with him, the more they fall out of love with sin, amen? The safety is there, the problem is that we don't preach the last clause.
People are so scared because their thoughts are so lowly that they dare not preach God's high thoughts. Even though God has brought down the gospel like rain and snow, they are so afraid. "No, no, if I tell people their sins are forgiven, there's no telling what they'll do". No, there's no telling what you will do. It's always others. Friend, let's be courageous with the gospel. Tell the world that they are forgiven. They're not saved, they have to believe on Christ, but they are forgiven because the blood of Jesus has forgiven them. They must come home, they must put their trust in Christ to receive what he has done for them. God is not mad at you, come home, amen?
In closing, let me show you this, two verses we'll close. Go to Isaiah 55, the last part. "After you go out with joy and be led out with peace," verse 13 tells us, "Instead of the thorn bush will come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off". So, when you go out, the mountains and hills are rejoicing, the trees of the field are clapping. You're a blessing everywhere you go. You bring joy everywhere you go. Instead of the curse, the thornbush, there shall be the cypress tree. Thornbush is what they use for a sheepfold to keep the sheep inside. Many a times it's not a wooden fence like in Texas, right? It's just a thornbush.
Let me show you a picture of thornbush, it's very thorny, so, they built this around the parameter and the sheep doesn't go across, okay? It fact in Isaiah, it tells you if your husband is unfaithful, I teach you how to pray, okay? In Isaiah, the wife was unfaithful so God says, "I will surround her with a hedge of thorns," amen? So, for your husband stop praying for favor for him, if he's not faithful, okay, pray for a hedge of thorns around him and around that woman so when they come together... all right? And then you pray for favor around yourself. You pray for favor.
Then slowly, slowly, he spend time with the woman, "Ah, I don't know why it hurts". He look at you, wah, slowly, slowly, uh, wah, uh, wah, and keep on praying like crazy. And when he comes, whenever he comes and see you, or talks to you and all that, okay, I know you are desperate. "Wah, how can you". Be calm, be calm, be like the swan, okay, serene on the water outside. Underneath, pedal like crazy, amen, or pray, but never show him you're desperate. Never beg him to come back. Never beg him, amen, all right, but keep on praying, thorn, hedge of thorns, hedge of thorns around her and him and for you, circle of favor, amen, amen. Only God can get you out. Just one thought can drop into his mind, all of add a sudden, "Why, why, what did I see in the first place," amen?
If it does come back, be a swan, amen, that won't beat him up. So, instead of a thornbush will come the cypress tree, you know cypress tree? How about this in your backyard, cypress tree? In other words, the blessing will be all around you. There'll be no curse. Cypress is part of the coniferous trees, you know your Christmas tree is a cypress tree. It can grow very tall. By the way, David knew all his harps and other instruments from cypress trees because they have a senora sound, they provide a very and they are very stately and very tall, so that he made his instruments all. The first occurrence of cypress for fir tree in the Bible is actually David making all the instruments.
So, instead of the thorny bush, ow, ee, ow, ow, no melody, you have beautiful songs, beautiful melody, amen, in this year of the latter rain, melodies like, Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain Amen. I sang that song in Sec 4 and I got first prize, valentine. Actually, my brother was supposed to sing but he backed out last moment and they asked me to take over. So, I was trembling and all that, I don't know how I got first but I sang that song, praise God, because I liked another girl down there. She left me so my heart was broken so I sang with passion and feeling, amen. Where's Wendy? Long time ago, long time ago, praise God, amen.
So, this is the cypress tree. Instead of the brier, back to the verse, instead of the brier, brier is nettle tree shall, come up the myrtle tree. Now, let me show you a brier, it's very sharp. It's a nettle tree. They call it stinging nettle. There's stinging nettle. You know, when you brush against it, it cause the whole body to itch. It's poisonous, all right, nettle. They call it stinging nettle. Instead of stinging nettle, you know what will come up? Myrtle tree, this is the myrrh tree. Myrrh tree or Hadassah, Hadassah in Hebrew, who's name is Hadassah? Who's name? A lady's name, who is that? Esther, very good. Her Hebrew name is Hadassah, myrtle tree, amen?
And in Israel, this is the white color one, the bottom left. Usually it's the white one but it can come in purple and different colors. It is said that the myrtle flower emits a fragrance more exquisite than the rose, and that's the myrtle tree. So, you will come out and be led out with peace, joy, and you know what? People will rejoice around you. You'll be a blessing everywhere you go, amen. Some people brings joy when they step into the room. Some people bring joy when they step out. Don't be the latter in the year of the latter rain, amen, amen?
So, be a blessing everywhere you go. Instead of the thornbush, amen, will come out the cypress. Instead of the brier, when people feel like, you know, uncomfortable around you, they feel like, you know, they are blessed, amen? Got a myrtle tree, what a feast for even the sight, the fragrance, amen? So, that's gonna happen this year as you allow the words of God to change you. Friend, one last verse about the sufferings of Jesus. I want you to see something about this is that when God loves you, many a times we see the suffering but we forget about the love.
Many years ago when I came up with the video on the sufferings of Jesus, I saw in the Spirit that all the sins of the world and like sewers, sewers being released, dark sewers and they converged upon Jesus, all your sins, all converged upon Jesus. At that time, I didn't have a verse to really show that but to my delight, I found not too long ago, I found a verse pagah in Hebrew for Isaiah 53, the famous chapter on his sufferings. It says this, "The Lord laid on Jesus," the last part, "the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all".
And I found out that in the Hebrew it's the word pagah and even the commentator says that the word pagah is a strong word. It's a violent word. And new English translation bring this out. All our sins, the Lord caused the sin of allover us to attack him, exactly what I saw. It's as if all the sin of the world will go into just one place, one location, into one body, that lonely figure on Calvary on the cross and all the sins of the world went into him. He shuddered. You know, we can never understand the love that God has for us. God, who loved us was not willing to part with us. God gave us his Son, knowing there's no other way and his Son loved us and gave his life for us. The Holy Spirit, called the love of the Spirit, loved us to bring us back to the Father knowing that we can never be happy anywhere else but in the Father's bosom. And the love that you're looking for in all the wrong places can be found in his heart, in his bosom.
And when I realized, all the sins fell on him. I just think about a few days earlier in Gethsemane when he prayed and the very thought of becoming sin on the cross, the very thought of becoming sin, not yet sin, not yet becoming our sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him, he became sin. But the very thought of becoming sin, how the holiness that knew no sin shuddered at the thought that the Bible says, he wept violently, strong crying, the Bible says, and he sweat blood which medical science says only in extreme stress, your capillaries burst. Just the very thought of becoming sin, not sin yet, just the very thought of becoming sin, he sweat blood. How much more at the cross when he became sin? This is the love. I want you to sit back, watch this video one more time, but this time I want you to focus on the love of God the Father for you and Jesus's love for you. Will you do that? Sit back.
What love, precious love. "Precious lamb of glory love's most wondrous story. Heart of God's redemption of man glory to the lamb of glory". Every head bowed, every eye closed all across this place and everywhere that's watching this right now. Friend, we can never understand or fully comprehend this amazing love, a love that loves us continuously. He calls it like this, "I've loved you with an everlasting love". Nothing you do can stop God loving you and it's calling you home, it's calling you to his house where there is bread enough and to spare, where there's provisions. Stop looking for leftovers. Stop looking for pseudo love in all the wrong places. Come home to his love, amen?
If that is you wherever you are right now, you say, "Pastor, I want this wonderful Jesus to be my Savior and Lord, pray for me". Pray this prayer right now from your heart.
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending your Son, my Lord Jesus as the lamb of God to take away all my sins. Thank you that he took my place, died in my stead, bore my punishment, and redeemed me from the curse on that cross. Lord Jesus, thank you for taking away all my sins. Thank you for loving me. Even when I didn't care about you, you loved me. You are risen from the dead, far above all principality and power, crowned with glory and honor, and you are my Savior and my Lord. Thank you, Lord Jesus, forevermore in your embrace, in your love, in Jesus's name.
Precious lamb of glory love's most wondrous story Heart of God's redemption for man glory to the lamb of glory.
Lift your hands all across this place. Remember this, you are not alone as you face this week. The Lord is with you and be sensitive to the proddings and the leadings of the Spirit, the promptings on the inside, will you, amen? Live the high life based on that. Don't just do the ordinary ethical thing, but go beyond that moral excellence. Listen to the Spirit. Lift your hands all across this place. This coming week, the Lord bless you and the Lord keep you. The Lord make his face to shine on you and be favorable to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and grant to you and your families his shalom health, peace, and well-being. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all the people said, amen.