Joseph Prince - The Link Between Righteousness And Health

Today, I'm gonna preach on righteousness and health. You know, we can preach on righteousness and prosperity, righteousness and wellbeing for the family, righteousness and a blessed marriage. We can preach on a lot of areas but for the first part, I think, how many would agree that, you know, besides salvation, the forgiveness of your sins, the greatest blessing you can have on earth is to be healthy. God wants you to prosper, 3 John 2. That's where the Bible says God wants you to prosper and be in health even as your souls prosper. And the Lord said to me one time recently, God says, "The moment my people know that I want them to be healthy, they become healthy," amen?

So I'm gonna talk about righteousness and health today, all right? God's best for you is that you learn to walk in new covenant health. I'm about to show you how. Look at Romans 8, verse 11. This is a powerful verse. Look at this verse: "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you".

Okay, first and foremost, let us establish one thing. This life is given to our mortal bodies. What's "mortal"? The body we'll have in the future is immortal. This is talking about the Holy Spirit in us giving life to our mortal body. Do you think for one moment the Holy Spirit give life to your body and your body remains sick? Do you think that the Holy Spirit who gives life to your body then cause your body to just remain the same as it was? Or do you think there'll be some change? Do you think that God quickens your body? Something happens to your body. C'mon now. Some of you are always tired, some of you are always, you know, feeling down, you're feeling fatigued or you are chronically sick, all right? That's not God's best for you. This message will set you free, amen? I'm gonna show you something with this message.

One day I was running, I was jogging, and I meditated on this Romans 8:11 and God opened up the whole verse to me, amen? Do you know that this verse is so pregnant, so chock full of the triune God, the triune God is mentioned twice in one verse. Let me show you, okay? You follow me now. "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead". Do you see the triune God? "The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus," the Holy Spirit of the Father who raised Jesus the Son. Do you see the Holy Spirit, the Father, and the Son? Do you see that? All right, just in the first line you see the triune God, all right? The triune God involved in raising Jesus from the dead.

Now "if that Spirit dwells in you, He who raised Christ," he the Father who raised Christ, the Son, "from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies by His Spirit". Now we have the triune God mentioned again, twice in one verse. The triune God is mentioned twice, it's a double portion verse. "Why do you say all that, Pastor Prince"? Just as all three is involved in raising Jesus from the dead, all three divine persons is vitally involved in giving life to your mortal body, amen?

Now, looking at this verse, I'm gonna give you a quick meditation of what I received as I've meditated on this verse, okay? The Bible says clearly that "God who raised Christ from the dead will give life". It does not say that God will give life. "God who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal body". Now, compare the two, all right? Look up here. Which is harder? To raise Christ from the dead is harder or to give life to your body for God is harder?

Now, I know with God there's nothing hard, amen? But I'm speaking in terms of, like, the way Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, all right, in a human way. When he saw the man paralyzed in front of him, Jesus asked, "Which is easier? To say to the sick, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to tell him, 'Rise, take up your bed, and walk'? Which is easier," right? So there's such a thing as easy and hard. So I'm asking you right now which is hard? To raise Christ from the dead or to just give life to your body?

Well, we have different people saying, "Give life to the body". Anyone? There is a harder, by the way. Raising Christ from the dead, all right? You know why? I'll prove to you from the book of Ephesians where it says: "God who raised Christ from the dead," it uses a number of Greek words for power, energeo, exousia, dunamis, amen? Amazing, kratos, all the different words for strength, power, dominion, to raise Christ from the dead because all the powers of darkness was trying to stop that. To raise Christ from the dead, all right, is the master achievement of God. So if that is harder, what is it to God to quicken your body, adjust your body, c'mon now, people, amen? "He that raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal body through His Spirit who indwells you," amen?

Now, I'm gonna show you right now, church, because years ago I asked the Lord the question, "If that is true," and it is true, "then, Lord, why is it that I'm defeated by the common flu? Something is amiss, Lord". And that's when the Lord brought me to this verse. Are you ready? Are you ready? Again, the answer is found in the context. Look at the context. Romans 8, verse 10 now, the verse before that: "And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness". And this righteousness, is it right-doing or a gift? It's a gift, amen. It's a gift of a state of being. It's not right-doing, hallelujah, amen?

Now once again. By the way, the word "Spirit is life," the word "Spirit" over here, is capital "S". Actually, you know, it's up to the translators to know whether it's the human spirit or the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, it's so intricately intertwined you can't tell where the Holy Spirit starts and the human spirit begins. But we know for sure it's not the Holy Spirit. Why? Because you don't say the Holy Spirit is life because of righteousness. It is a spirit of man. It should be a small "s". The spirit is life, our spirit is alive with the life of God because we have been made righteous, amen, okay? You got that?

So how many of you have Christ in you? How many of you? All right, if you have Christ in you, your body's dead because of sin, but your human spirit is alive because of righteousness. But then, look at this, "the body is dead because of sin". Are we to despair because even though Christ is in us, our body is dead because of sin? Are we to despair? No, thank God, because of verse 11. Verse 11 says God will even give life to that body that's dead... God will give life to your mortal body, amen?

And now I'm gonna illustrate. Okay, Darren, come. Patrick, come. Gabriel, come. All right, this is Pastor Prince. This is Pastor Prince, three parts, all right? Spirit, soul, body, okay? You are a spirit being having a soul. Actually, both these is intertwined, all right? But for the sake of explanation, I'll divide myself. This is me, this is you, all right? We are tripartite. What tite? Tripartite. Three persons in one. Like God, God made us in his image. He is three in one: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. God said, "Let us make man in our image". So God made us a spirit, God was a spirit. And we who are spirit can commune. Those who are not saved, their spirit's dead. Look down, dead.

Now, the Bible says, look up here, "If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness". So the body is dead, even for the believer. Don't talk about unbelievers, huh? Every part is dead. But for the believer, your body is dead because of sin. Now are we to despair? No, because the spirit is life being made right with God. So the moment they receive Jesus. You know where Jesus comes in? The Holy Spirit of Christ comes in through your spirit.

Now, sometime they feel his presence, all right? They may cry with their body. Doesn't really matter. This is not where God comes to. This is not where God comes to, not to the mind, not to the body. He comes through the spirit. And the spirit, looking down, cut off from God becomes alive. It's called born again, amen? Amen, amen? And the more you come to church, you get good feeding, you develop muscles, amen? You start to grow stronger and stronger, all right.

Now, the Bible says the Holy Spirit wants to quicken your mortal body. This is what the Holy Spirit's after. But notice the verse before that says: "If Christ is in you the Spirit is alive because of righteousness but the body is dead because of sin". But notice there's a middle one: the mind. It's the mind that hinders the spirit from touching the body. If you read Romans 8 from where our verse is taken from, you'll find that it says to be carnally minded is death, to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Now, you'll be surprised. What is carnally minded? Not thinking dirty thoughts. I mean that is carnally for sure but the passage there, carnally minded is to believe that you are still dirty, unclean, you are a sinner, even though you've saved, you're a lousy excuse for a Christian. To believe that is to believe carnally. And God says to believe that is death. But if you believe in line with what the Bible says, you believe you are the righteousness of God in Christ, that is spiritually minded, which is life and peace. Are you listening? That's why after a Christian is saved, he needs to get good teaching for his mind. He needs his mind to be renewed. Or else, his mind will be skinny, amen?

Now this just for illustration. This is the mind, the emotions. Now, this is the part. Even though God's Spirit's come to the spirit, the spirit's alive because of... so are you righteous? Yes, but if you don't know, your mind does not know you are righteous, notice the connection is not made, the spirit touches the mind, the mind does not touch the body. It does not touch. You know why? The mind does not know who is touching. The mind doesn't know.

So it's a fact that every believer is righteous. It is a fact. Whether they know it, they don't know it, they are still righteous. So even though you believe you are dirty, unclean, you are still righteous in God's eyes. That's why it gets very confusing, because God treats you like sin is no more a barrier. He talks to you, you know, but you are saying that, "Oh, God, how can you talk to me? Is this God"?

You see? How many understand? This is where it needs education, Bible education. This is where you must come to church and be fed and be told. Your mind must know. It's called the renewing of the mind. You are transformed by the renewing of your mind. Your mind has to know you are righteous, amen? The moment your mind... your mind is also your consciousness. You know, people can say, "Amen, amen," but they, you know what they conscious of? Their failures, their shortcomings. And because you are constantly sin conscious, consciousness is of the soul, you're always sin conscious, sin conscious, even though the life, the zoe life in the spirit, is trying to touch you, you're not able to identify.

So one day you come to New Creation Church and you hear the Word that tells you you are righteous. Now your mind is beginning to get information, amen? Your mind is beginning to hear, "Hey, all the while God is telling me I am. This is the voice of God. Hey, you know that friendly voice that talks to me when I'm down, when I'm discouraged, even when I fail, that voice that talks to me. It's God". That's the life of God trying to reach your mind, amen? And now you believe the friendly voice. You no more say that, "How can I expect God to speak to me in a friendly way? You know, how can I expect God to tell me I'm righteous still"? Now you begin to believe and slowly, slowly, though weakly, you start to reach out, amen. Your mind is not cooperating with the spirit, amen?

Watch this now. The moment your mind starts to believe and be conscious that you are righteous, praise the Lord, the electric current from the spirit which is life, the Holy Spirit, shoom-ba-ba-ba-ba-boom-brumm, hallelujah! Hallelujah, hallelujah, amen! And then all three go visiting during Chinese New Year and your friends come to you and you're 60 years old and say, "You are 60? Don't bluff me, lah. You look like 35". I mean, your relatives start saying, "What happened to you? You went for a face lift, is it?" amen? And they can't believe that something has happened to your body. That's what happens when the electric current starts flowing freely unabated. Are you listening, church?

But many, many believers, you see, if that verse, Romans 8:11, the quickening of our bodies, if that is automatic, no Christian will ever be sick. No Christian will ever die before their time. No Christian, no believer, will be chronically tired. But you all know it's not true. You know there are believers that are always fatigued, always tired, always weak, always sick, but thanks be to God we found the secret. It's to see the verse in its context. The secret is found in the preceding verse that says: "The Spirit is alive because of righteousness". It talks about the body dead, the Spirit is alive".

But notice, you read earlier in Romans, the first part of Romans, it talked about the mind. The mind needs to be renewed. The mind is the middle man. The mind is the middle man. If the mind does not agree with the Spirit, the Spirit cannot flow to touch the body. Many Christians die like this: the Spirit's reaching out, telling them to believe the truth of who they are in Christ, that they are healed, they are righteous, but the mind never responds. The mind is not taught. Maybe they attend a church that teaches that God does not heal all the time. God may leave some people sick for his divine reasons, for some reason, amen? You know, and he never makes the connection to touch the body, never.

Now this is God's best for the believer. So every time you say, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ," you know what's happening? You're giving life to your body, amen? All right? Every time you say that, you are doing this, the power, the zoe life start flowing: shh-ba-ba-ba-ba-boom-boom-boom, hallelujah. This guy feel energetic, man. He feels like going for four services, hallelujah, amen. He can go on, hallelujah, amen? Give them a good hand, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.

Now, let me close with this final verse, okay? The question today, church, Jesus came to give you life. You saw last week, the Bible says Jesus said, "I come that you might have rules and more rules, and rules abundantly". No, no, no, no, he didn't come to give us rules and more rules. He says, "I come that you might have life, and life more abundantly," amen? You know why? God never meant for you to die. God never meant for man to live life and then decay, grow old, and finally have disease or whatever and die. That's not God's best. That came because of sin. "The wages of sin is death". God's gift is life. The gift of God is eternal life. Say, "Life".

Now, I'll close with this verse, Romans 5, my favorite verse, 17. Look up here. "If by one man's offense death reigned through that one," you see how powerful the effect of the first Adam's offense was? His sin caused such widespread repercussion that still goes on, okay? Now, God has done something. God calls Jesus the last Adam. Do you know that? The second Adam. Just as the first Adam is representative of the whole human race, Jesus is today our Adam. So the next verse says: "Much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift," gift, gift, not reward, "of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ".

My two favorite topics. I'm so glad God raised me up to preach on these two. Only two things you need: the abundance of undeserved favor and to receive the gift of righteousness, and you will reign in life. Now, reign in life is not just, you know, the English saying, "I will reign in this life". It's not in this life. Reign in life as opposed to death of Adam. Death is operating on this frequency. You are operating higher. You are reigning with life, by life. In the fullness of life, as contrast with death, hallelujah. And what's the key? The two keys is "Much more those who receive abundance of grace".

Can you preach on grace too much? It's those who receive the abundance of grace. So you pray your pastor will preach an abundance of grace message. "Because those who receive an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life," as opposed to death, "through the One, Jesus Christ," amen? Notice the Word says, "Receive abundance of grace or receive the gift of righteousness". Are you all good receivers or not? Are you all good receivers? What's the correct response of receiving? The best response that give pleasure to both the giver and the receiver? "Thank you very much".

Be bold to receive. Jesus paid for it. And the greatest thing you can do for the one who gave his life and suffered for you, all right, is to say "thank you" and enjoy the gift. If you know somebody suffered to buy you this jacket, whatever, literally suffered, you know, worked extra time and all that, you put on the jacket in front of the person especially and wear it with joy and pride. Can I have a good "Amen"? And it gives pleasure to the one who did it, amen.