Joseph Prince - The Key To Live Blessed
I just want to say this that if you're a young believer, you just put your trust in Christ maybe these past few week, what you need to know beyond anything else is what I'm gonna share right now. If you're a believer for ten or more years, you consider yourself a mature believer, what you need in your life is what I'm about to share right now, okay? You'll never go beyond it. Can I have a good amen?
So, let's dive right into the Word of God, praise the name of Jesus. We know that God is gonna do something great in your life, something powerful, amen? The world is getting darker and darker, but the church of Jesus Christ is shining brighter and brighter, amen? Romans chapter 4, verse 13, "For the promise that Abraham would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith".
Now, the promise, this is God's promise. God's promise to Abraham that he'll be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. So, let's establish first and foremost, Abraham, we all know, but who is Abraham's seed? That's you and I. We are Abraham's seed. The Bible says in Galatians, if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed and you are heirs according to the promise. So, from now on you see the word "seed", Abraham's seed, think of yourself, amen? Because the Bible says you are Abraham's seed.
So, this promise that he'll be the heir of the world, God promised Abraham that he'll be the heir of the world, it was not a promise through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Now before that, let's establish again, okay, first and foremost, what is this promise? The promise is that he'll be the heir of the world. As believers, we are not to look at the blessings of the Daniel, or the blessings of David, or the blessings of Isaiah. We are told to look to Abraham, the blessing of Abraham, the promise to Abraham. Abraham is a picture of a man, in fact, God called Abraham, "my friend". What a beautiful expression, huh? He's the only one in the Bible that God calls "my friend".
And do you know that he's the first person, the Bible says, that's recorded. We know that Noah as well, but Abraham in a fuller way. The Bible says that Abraham believed the Lord and he was counted to him for righteousness at a time when Abraham didn't even know the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments was not yet given until 400 over years after Abraham on Mount Sinai. When Abraham's seed and children became multitude of 12 tribes, amen, and they were slaves in Egypt and God brought them out, that was the time that God gave them the Ten Commandments.
Many of us are familiar with the Ten Commandments. For many people, Christianity is getting saved and then do your best to keep the Ten Commandments. Now, nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, we need to understand that trying to keep the Ten Commandments will produce the opposite. The law was designed by God. The law is holy, but it cannot make your holy. The law is just, but it cannot justify you. The very perfection of the law is the very thing that brings out man's sin.
Now, look at this verse before we going come back to Romans 4, look at Romans 6:14 it says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you". Now, how many want that to be true in your life? Sin is the mother of all pain and suffering. Long before there was pain and suffering in this world, there was sin. Sin came in and brought all these things plus the ages of sin is death. So, we know that sin is everything that is evil. It is like cancer. You know, when you hear the word "cancer", for example, you know the same feeling you have multiplied a hundred times and that's why God hates sin, amen.
God loves the sinner, just the same way you love someone but the person has cancer, all right, could be a dear one, a loved one. The level by which, the intensity by which you hate the cancer is dependent on how much you love the person. Same way, God hates sin because God loves man. God so loved you, amen. So, the problem is sin, but why does sin have dominion? According to this verse, it says, "For sin shall not have dominion", and we all want that, can I have a good amen? We all want that, right? Why, why will sin have no dominion? And this is a noun here.
Sin is a coming short of the glory of God, and it can come short in your body, which is weak, sick, you know, dying, and coming short in your mind which instead of poised, calm, peaceful mind, you have a mind in turmoil, depressed mind. All that is coming short and sin is the mother of all these things. So, coming short or sin shall not have dominion over you because you are not under law, but under grace, okay? So, it behooves us then to find out how to be under grace and not to be under law because according to this verse... but it's amazing how the church world have this impression.
The moment you teach grace, they'll say you're giving people license to sin when actually this verse says when you teach grace, when you put people under grace, sin will have no more dominion over them and under the close on the heels of sin is sickness, amen? Close on his heels is depression, all kinds of weakness that God never ordained for man to live in. Finally death, the ultimate sickness of weakness. This is all the result of sin and the Bible says sin will have no power when you are under grace and not under law. Isn't it amazing?
And yet, we know that the law is... now we are conscious of the law but during Abraham's time, he wasn't conscious of the Ten Commandments. In fact, Abraham, if you are strict about it, you study his life, we all know that he lied twice, amen? And God still blessed him. Now, I'm not advocating that you lie. If you lie, there's a consequence. God didn't bless Abraham because a lie. God blessed Abraham because he was righteous by faith, amen? He was under God's grace, you understand?
That's why we cannot look at David. David was punished. Even though his punishment was tempered with a lot of mercy and grace, David is a picture of a man under law. David lived after the Ten Commandments, post Ten Commandments. You cannot look at other people under the law and say that, "Oh, they were punished, how can we expect any different"? No, we are to look at Abraham. Abraham was never punished because God treated Abraham as righteous. Abraham wasn't righteous because of what he did. He was righteous by faith. Are you listening, people? The Bible says Abraham believed God, and God imputed righteousness to him. God treated him and declared him righteous. Can I have a good amen?
We have the blessing of Abraham and the promise that God gave Abraham, according to Romans chapter 4, is the promise that he'll be the heir of the world. Now, this promise is not just to him, but also to his seed. Smile at your neighbor and say, "I'm Abraham's seed", amen? So, let's look at the phrase "heir of the world". Look at the phrase "heir of the world". Wow, that's a mouthful. In the Greek, heir of the cosmos, amen, and Thayer, a Greek similar says it involves even earthly goods, amen, involves everything that's earthly.
Now, this is the greater blessing, heir of the world. Of course, the greater always encompasses the lesser. How can you be the heir of the world if you're always broke? You don't have enough money, you're always cutting corners, right? How can you be the heir of the world? How can you impact people, amen? I'm not saying we pursue riches, no, when you pursue God, money will pursue you, don't worry. Supply will be there, amen? I said, amen? Heir of the world is a larger blessing. How can you be the heir of the world if you're always flat on your back, if you're always sick, needing people to take care of you all the time? How can you be the heir of the world, right?
So, in other words, the heir of the world includes all these blessings in order for you to be the heir of the world. How can you be the heir of the world if you're emotionally unstable, always depressed, you're on all kinds of tranquilizers, all kinds of medication? You need help to be stabilized, how can you be the heir of the world? So, heir of the world includes what? Peace of mind, includes emotions that are well balanced in control, amen? Am I right? So, the greater always includes the lesser. Can I have a good amen? And this promise that you'll be the heir of the world was not just to Abraham, but also to his seed, okay?
So, the next thing we want to find out is, how does it come and why is it that many people don't seem to have it, even though we have put our trust in Christ, we don't seem to see the manifestation of the blessings? Of course, many others have seen that. What is the difference? It tells you very clearly here. This promise to Abraham and to his seed is not via the law. It's not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. It is through the righteousness of faith and yet you hear time and time again the teaching, "If you want to be close to God, if you want God to bless you, you want God to bless your family, then you gotta do this, you gotta be obedient, you gotta consecrate yourself more, you gotta obey more".
It all basically comes back to through the law. It's the opposite. The promise is not through the law. It is through the righteousness of faith, amen? Righteousness of faith is a gift, amen, just like Abraham did not become righteous because of his conduct, his performance, now, is this important, performance and conduct? Yes, but performance and conduct is like the branches of the tree. It is not the root. The root is what produces the leaves and the fruit, amen? The root is not the fruit, the fruit is not the root. Grace is the root, and holiness, abundant life and, all the fruit of the Spirit. It's a fruit.
Grace is the root. Holiness is the fruit. But instead, we are focused on holiness, the fruit, amen, and we try to make the apple tree produce orange. How many know apple tree produce apple fruits? "Martha, we came all the way to hear him preach that"? No, friend, apples will always produce apples, oranges produce oranges and if you are righteous by faith, you will produce righteous acts. You will produce righteous results, amen. Right believing will always produce right living, amen? The fruit of the Spirit versus the works of the flesh, notice it's not fruit of the flesh. If you believe you are righteous by faith, the more you believe that, you will produce the fruit, the byproduct is love, joy, peace, self-control, even self-control is a fruit.
I learned a long time ago when I was a youth pastor that if I want self-control for my young people, I don't preach self-control. If I preach self-control, it's like putting wood on fire. The more I preach self-control, the more they try to control themselves, the more they use their own efforts, the more they will see the opposite. If I want self-control, I must preach grace and the fruit of preaching grace, the fruit is self-control. If I want joy, peace, no point telling someone who has no joy and peace, "Don't be depressed, don't be depressed, don't be depressed".
The more they try not to be depressed, the more they're like depressed. Like, you know, don't think, don't picture a pink elephant. Don't picture a pink elephant, all right, all right? Don't think of it. So, the more you try not to, the worse it is and these are the result of our preaching. We preach something so much, "don't, don't, don't", it produces the opposite. That's the nature of the law. God gave the law, nothing wrong with the law. The law is holy, but it cannot make you holy.
The law is designed to bring out your sin and that's why the Bible says the sting of death is sin, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 56, "The sting of death is sin, but the strength, the strength, dunamis, the strength of sin is the law", wow. The strength of sin is the law. The more you try to keep the law, the worse it is, amen? Okay, you got a colleague that is, you know, always rubbing you the wrong way or talking to you in a way that provokes you, you don't like him at all so you determine you wake up this morning you say, "I am determined I'll be patient with him. All right, I'll do my best. I'll bite my tongue and do my best not to say anything back, all right? I'll do my best". Guess what, it's your worse day with him, right? The more you try, the worse it is.
"So, what are you saying, Pastor Prince"? Let go, hey, in fact I wrote a book called "Live The Let-Go Life". When you let go, Jesus takes over. When you hold on, he lets go. You choose, amen? So, we are back to this again that our holiness, the overcoming life, the life of victory, the abundant life, cannot come by our efforts, by our trying to keep the law, albeit we have good intention. It only comes by righteousness through faith.
So the reason we don't see believers even walking as heirs of the world, amen, with the blessing of Abraham on them is because they're trying to get it by the law instead of the way God ordained it through the righteousness by faith. But the more you declare you are righteous by faith, you're gonna see the blessings of God come on your life and abound. Are you listening?
Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount by the Lake of Galilee, I love that spot. Jesus said, "Seek you first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things that you want in life". And he got through talking about material things. "Don't worry about your clothings. Don't worry about your food. All these things will be added to you". You hear that? But seek you first, what? The kingdom of God and his righteousness. What is his righteousness? It's a gift. His righteousness is righteousness by faith. The more I believe I'm righteous by faith, the more all these things will be added unto me. Can I have a good amen?
But instead, we are seeking our own righteousness. We are going about to establish our own righteousness and therefore we have not submitted to the gift of righteousness. You know, the Bible says that by the disobedience of one, many were made sinners. Who is that one man's disobedience that made everybody sinners? We sin, people sin today, not because, listen, people are not sinners today, I should say, all right? They are not sinners because they sin, they sin because they are sinners. How many can understand that?
The Bible says we are sinners because of Adam's sin that one man's disobedience, amen? That's why in heaven Adam has a special exclusive spot, well fortified, guarded by angels. Everybody is out to get him. No, no, no, I'm just kidding. The first man sinned and caused sin to spread down through his descendants. So, our lives with our predecessors are all intricately linked. You cannot say, "It's unfair, Adam sinned and I have to become a sinner"? We're all linked. The blood is linked all the way down to the first man, amen? When Adam sinned, one man's disobedience, many were made sinners.
So, why, why are we sinners? Okay, I am speaking that generally. We are not sinners today, amen? Those who believe on Christ, we are righteous, but why are we sinners? Because of Adam's sin. We sin because we are sinners. We are sinners because of Adam's sin, according to this verse. By the same token by one man's obedience at the cross, we are made righteous. Come on, look up here. How are we righteous today? Because of one man's obedience. My obedience? No, I'm not that one man. Your obedience? No, that one man's obedience, Jesus's obedience made all of us righteous. That takes the monkey off my back. I'm not the one making myself righteous. His obedience made me righteous. Can I have a good amen?
The more I believe that, the more I have the fruit of the Spirit. And don't worry about holiness. Don't worry about right living, it will be a fruit when you believe right. Can I have a good amen? Come on, church. This is exciting, hallelujah. What we need to focus on, yeah, give him the praise, amen? What we need to focus on is really to focus on the fact that we are righteous by faith. Can I have a good amen?
Amen, we're righteous by faith, by the way, you know what is by faith? When God pronounced you righteous, doesn't mean you're, there's no more manifestation of sin, you won't see like bad thoughts go through your mind never again. No, no, no, the reason why it's by faith is because you are conscious of the presence of sin in your members of your body, in your flesh. You're still conscious, but in spite of that, you believe what God says. God has made you righteous. You confess, "I'm righteous by faith", amen?
That's why it's by faith. In spite of all the evidence it tells you, you still have the kind of wrong thinking. You still have the negative emotions and all that. You say, "I am righteous by faith". The more you believe that, the more you'll see the blessings of the righteous fall on you, the blessing of Abraham fall on you, all these things added unto you. You become the heir of the world which includes even, health, provision, emotional well-being, poise and confidence in the Lord, hallelujah, amen.
Man, I feel the anointing, hallelujah. In the name of Jesus. All right guys, get ready, praise the Lord. If you have pain in your body. Someone here has pain on the right side here that has been going up and down your back. Stand up right now and you find yourself healed in Jesus's name. All those with back conditions stand up right now in Jesus's name, all across this place, every venue, right now in Jesus's name and Grace Revolution Church as well. In the name of Jesus, stand up right now.
Somebody has a pain. Watch now, you have a pain on your left buttock area that shoots up and down, not all the time, but it happens, it shoots up and down, up and down and I'm seeing God doing something right now in your body in Jesus's name, in the name of Jesus, right now, receive your healing. In the name of Jesus, receive your... Start doing what you cannot do before. You can't bend, bend, amen. You can't move your knee, move your knee right now. Many back conditions, all kinds of back conditions.
Mmm, someone's back just snapped back in place in Jesus's name, hallelujah. I speak to every sinew, every muscle, every tendon, every joint, every muscle in the name of Jesus come back into place the way God ordained you to be in the name of the Lord Jesus. I speak life, restoration, healing, and health to your body right now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, start doing what you cannot do. Move your back, turn around. If the pain is gone, watch, everyone that's watching this is while the pain is gone, do this, a big wave, all right, a big wave. Just do a big wave, come on. It's a big place so do a big place, everyone can see it.
Well, give Jesus the praise, come on, church, hallelujah, amen. We know there was so many of you who raised your hands and we know that God is still healing people. Write to the church, amen, write to the church if you even have a doctor's testimonial if it's that serious and all that and there's a past and an after, you know, x-ray or whatever, send it to us. Let us know about it because your testimony can encourage others as well, amen? So again, you know, the flow of the anointing is such that I just have to be alert to what the Lord is doing. God is not through. He's still healing people, amen?
Someone who just said just now, "I wish Pastor Prince will call out my condition and all that". But listen, you don't have to have me call out, the Lord knows you. He knows your phone number, even you change it last week, he knows it, amen. Listen, he knows the number of hair on your head, amen? And he also can count zero, all right? Don't you love it when you Jesus says he knows the number of hairs on your head? Isn't it amazing, amen? That means he knows you in detail, friend.
So friend, just be open to the Lord. The more you rest, the more you're open to his love, the more good things happen to you. The more blessings flow into your life, amen? It's all based on like what I'm sharing, you know, the church as a whole, we still don't understand the fact that we are under grace. Grace is all about supply. Law is all about demand, amen? The law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The law demands righteousness from man, and man could not. It's a perfect righteousness. But under grace, God supplies that perfect righteousness through Christ to be received as a gift. Can I have a good amen?
The Bible says that we are made righteous freely. Look up here Romans 3, it says being justified... by the way, this is quite amusing for me because many of us know the verse before this. We do not know this verse. The church, as a whole, know the verse before this. You know what's the verse before this? Let me show you. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". This was our memory verse. When I was in school last time, I memorized this verse, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" all right? But no one taught me the verse after, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus".
Now, this word "freely", I highlighted that to show you something. It is the Greek word "dorean" and dorean means, listen, dorean means freely without a cost. You know what Jesus said on, in the upper room on the night that he was betrayed, he talked about the nation of Israel and the way they treated him. He says that, "they hated me without a cause". That phrase, "without a cause" is actually dorean, without a cause.
So, being justified freely means what? We are all justified in God's eyes, made righteous, without a cause in us. The cause is not in you, there is no reason, all right, that is in you, that God justifies you. All the cause is in him. So, right now still, we still see, "Oh maybe, you know, God makes me, God declares me righteous because I prayed extra today, or maybe I treated someone good today".
We're still trying to find a cause in ourselves, but the cause is not in you. Dorean means without any cause, C-A-U-S-E, not C-O-S-T, without any reason. The reason is not in you. There's no reason in you for God to declare you righteous. All the reason is in him. By one man's disobedience, Adam's disobedience, many were made sinners. By the obedience of one man, Jesus Christ, we're all made righteous, amen?
Now, let me ask you this question, y'all know the first Adam, right, the first man, Adam? By the way, his wife is the first wife, right? Like Eve asked Adam one time, "Do you love me"? Adam says, "Who else"? If she's like some wives, you know, I know Adam is sleeping, she'll probably creep slowly and then count the number of his ribs to make sure that not another one is missing.
Well, the first man, Adam, that Adam sinned against God, and as a result, all were made sinners. By the same token, the last Adam, the second man, all right, the last Adam Jesus Christ came, the Bible says, the federal head brought sin and death into the world. Another federal head was raised by God. Jesus Christ, God sent his Son to become a man, to die as a federal head. And then that obedience at the cross, by one man's obedience, we're all made righteous, amen, amen? But the church still have this thinking, "Yeah, I'm righteous until my next sin".
Let me ask you a question, okay, this is where it really gets tough for some people because their religious emotions will rise up and they'll fight it. When you sin, now, listen, I'm not against holiness, I am for holiness. I'm not against the law, I am for the law for the reason God gave the law, and God never gave the law to justify man by. God gave the law to show man's sin like a mirror. You cannot blame the mirror if the mirror shows ugly. The mirror is faithful and true, amen? Why y'all laugh at me? Very bad, uh? Anyway, when it comes to Adam's disobedience, Adam disobeyed, we're all made sinners. Nothing we do can change the fact that we are sinners.
Now, let me ask you this question, and don't answer religiously. If by Jesus's obedience now, by one man's obedience we are made righteous, can we undo it? Can we sin and become unrighteous again? Think carefully. By the same token when you were a sinner, y'all remember when you were a sinner? Your days of those days when you're a sinner, did you do something that is right, all right, help the poor or something like that? I'm sure you did something right but also did terrible, you know? Do y'all remember doing something when you were a sinner, right? You did something right, right? But did doing right change the fact that you're still a sinner?
You're still a sinner. Nothing you can do can undo what the first Adam did. That's how powerful it is, right? By the same token, the last Adam, Jesus Christ has come by one man's obedience, his obedience, we are made righteous. Can we undo it? If you say we can undo it, then I submit to you you are saying that what the first Adam did is more powerful than what Jesus did. Friend, no way. By Jesus's obedience, we're all made righteous, permanently. Can I have a good amen? Believing that, believing right will produce right living, not to worry. Can I have a good amen?
Now, we are ready to go back to Romans 4, amen. Romans 4 says the promise that God gave to Abraham that Abraham will be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed, all of us, through the law. It's not through the law, but it's through the righteousness of faith. And how is the church trying to get it? They are trying to get it by the law, by keeping the law. But the Bible says it's not through the law. It's not via the law. It is through, via, the knowledge that you are righteous by faith, through the righteousness by faith. Can I have a good amen? Amen. That means the more I declare I'm the righteousness of God in Christ, the more I see the blessings of God abound in my life, amen?
I used to use my faith last time to believe God for this provision, to believe God for healing, to believe God for this, for that, for this, for that. It seems my faith was dissipated in so many directions until one day the Lord showed me, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, his righteousness, which is a gift, and all these things will be added unto you. In other words, I should use my faith only for one area, to believe that what God declared about me as being righteous is so and every day I declare I'm righteous by faith, I declare I'm the righteousness of God in Christ, the more I declare it, the more I see the blessings of God in my life. Can I have a good amen?
For those of you taking down notes, this will be worth your while to jot down. In the New Testament, I used to think that when I studied on faith, I learned about faith, faith is all about receiving healing, receiving blessing, receiving this but now this is a great note to write down, okay?
That faith in the New Testament 20 times is mentioned is directly related to righteousness. Twenty times in the New Testament, faith is directly related to righteousness. To believe that you are righteous by faith, only four times is faith in the New Testament directly related to salvation, yet we preach a lot on salvation, we talk more on salvation than righteousness in the church but faith is only directly linked to salvation four times in the New Testament. But faith is directly connected to righteousness 20 times in the New Testament.
What does that tell you? It tells you where to use your faith. Every day, there'll be reasons for you to wake up feeling unclean, feeling you're not in right standing with God, feeling that God is far away, feeling that you don't deserve God's answers, you know, to your prayer, feeling like you have missed it, feeling like you don't deserve the blessings. That's the time you must declare by faith, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ". Can I have a good amen, people?
And it's more important that you establish, don't worry about your children, your family. In fact, the Bible says that when you are... you know, many a times we try to change our wives or we try to change our children, and we bring a lot of anxiety into the process. We try to change our wives. We try to change our loved ones, and understandably so because we don't want them to suffer the consequences that we suffered. We want our children to have a better deal in life, amen, to have a greater break in life than we did, you know?
We want them to avoid all the pitfalls so we focus on them. We advise them but many a times it becomes, the approach becomes very law based and our wives as well. We want her to be a woman of God, amen, a woman of God submits to the husband, amen? And all the women say nothing, all right. Like the wife says, "My husband is the head, but I'm the neck, I turn him around", amen. Praise the Lord.
So, you focus on your wife. You place the demands on your wife. Remember, demand is law centered, amen. Law is always, what? Demand. Grace is what? Supply. Does that mean that doesn't require for us today anything? No, of course not. We are to love one another. For example, how do you love that colleague that always, you know, you find it very hard to be patient with him, let alone, come near him? Well, the only way you can do it is like this, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ", amen? Declare it by faith and then tell the Lord, "Whether I try, I don't try, all right, it is not me anyway, it is you".
Live The Let-Go Life. When you're with him, relax. True holiness is not by your effort, and you find you'll be more holy by accident than you can on purpose, amen? You'll live the overcoming life by accident, by accident means byproduct than to be focused on it. And all the people said? So, I want to change my family the way God's way is like this. God says, you know, the world says these are the seven steps to changing your children, these are the ten steps to changing your wife, no, 50 steps, wife, 50 steps. You hit number 50, it's jubilee already, all right? I mean, who can understand wives, right? I mean, when God made them, we were sleeping. But God's way is always you yourself.
Watch this, if you want your wives changed and transformed, you want your kids to be transformed, God's way is like this, look up here, Psalms 128. It says, "When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy and it shall be well with you". How many want to be happy, even in your workplace, you're enjoying the fruits of your labor and it's well with you? Look at this, "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house". Vine produces grapes. Grapes produces what? Grapes produce wine. Wine intoxicates, amen?
How to have a wife that intoxicates you, amen? Your wife shall be a fruitful vine, okay, not unfruitful prune. There's a difference between vine, grapes, and prune, amen? Even if she's a prune, she will, God will have to keep this promise in your life. She'll become a fruitful vine, right, amen?
This is the portrait that God has for his people, look a portrait of faith, a picture, if you would, for you to see what your family life can be like. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine. Your children like olive plants all around your table, olive that produced the oil. The oil is used in the Old Testament and even in the new as the anointing, amen, the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In other words, instead of like a lot of determination, a lot of labor, a lot of painful labor, a lot of laborious work, it's a flow, it's a flow. Like just now the healing, was there a lot of effort? No, it's a flow. That was the oil flowing. Are you listening?
That's like when I said, someone says, "Thank you, Pastor Prince". It's not Pastor Prince that heal you. If I heal you, right, I press, press on your head, you'll go bald. You know what I'm saying or not? Nothing will happen. Remember Moses in the wilderness when God brought water out of the rock, I'm telling you, which man can bring water out of the rock? It's not Moses, it's God. When God speaks water flow out of the heart places in your life. Refreshment will flow, amen? If you and I try to produce water, we press and press and press, the wrong, blood will come out. Are you listening, people?
So, your children will be olive plants, they're anointed. They do things with a flow. They pass their exams effortlessly, amen. They're able to see things like other people don't see, and they do things quicker because they have the oil on their mind, the oil of the Holy Spirit in all that they do, amen? Your children will be like olive plants. Now, how many want this to be real for your wife and your children, amen? God didn't do all this to entice you and then God says, "Ha, ha, no, I just tease you, you won't get it", all right? No, the reason God gave us this to encourage us.
This is his dream, his portrait of faith for God's people, their families, amen. But notice this, if you want your wife to be a fruitful vine, you want your children to be like olive plants, it starts with you. "Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord". God is saying, "You want to see a man blessed of me? All right, look at his wife, a fruitful vine. Look at his kids, like olive plants". The man has to focus, "Am I blessed? If I am blessed, my wife shall be. If I am blessed, my children shall be".
I don't have to focus on them to be. I don't have to make them to be. If I am blessed, my wife shall be. If I am blessed, my children will be, amen? In other words, behold God is saying, "Look this is the man that's blessed of me". Look at his wife, look at his children, amen. Look at his work, he's enjoying his works. Things are going well with him. He eats the labor of his hands. In other words, thus shall the man be blessed, thus shall the man be who's blessed by the Lord, amen? We have to focus on the fact that, are we blessed of the Lord? And if we are the righteousness God in Christ, the more we maintain that truth, it's gonna have an effect on our children, on your wives.
You know, there's a promise in the Bible that God himself will teach you children, you know that? Now, the Bible, that promise in Isaiah 54 does not say all your children should be taught about the Lord. Yes, we do teach our children about the Lord but that promise is that all your children shall be taught by the Lord himself.
Now, we do teach our children like last week was the Passover, and my family and I decided to have a Passover, all right, just to bring our children in, their experience and all that. Of course, we put it in New Testament light, Jesus is our Passover, lamb, right? So, there was a menorah, we lit the candle and the menorah and all that. And the Passover is when the young children were asked the question, "Why is this night different from other nights"?
So, I decided to tell Justin about this night, how Jesus, the blood that he shed, caused the angel of death to pass over, amen? Death will pass over, judgment will pass over because of the blood, amen? Then I said, "Notice that, Justin, the door entrance, all right, the door to the Israelite house, notice that there's the two doorpost, blood must be put here on the left and on the right, and on top, the lintel", I said. "Notice what it makes. It makes the cross". And then he put up his hand like in class. He says, "Wait". I said, "What"? "Actually the cross makes four, is from four points, connects four points. That's only three", he told me. All right, two here and the top.
Then all of a sudden when he said that right, God brought back to my mind something that I've not been teaching for a long, long time and I used to teach many years ago on the threshold covenant. There is a covenant called threshold covenant. Even the Chinese all over the world, they observe this to some extent. They put some special, you know, the threshold, you step into the house, that means you step into a covenant with that family there, amen? That's why you carry your new bride, the custom of across the threshold, that means you enter into a covenant with her, amen?
So, threshold is like stepping into the blessings God talks about. And actually, you know where they put the lamb? When they killed the lamb and they take the blood to put on the doorpost and the lintel, the lamb was placed on the threshold. So Justin was right, it makes four points, amen? I was thinking to myself, where did he get that from? He wasn't born when the Lord gave me this, amen? And I'm not even teaching the church so he cannot be hearing this. It is from the Lord. It's from the Lord.
Our children shall be taught by the Lord. It's good that you teach them about the Lord, but the promise in Isaiah 54, all your children shall be taught by the Lord. And you know what's the result? Great shall be the peace of your children. Great shall be the shalom of your children. Shalom is not just peace of mind. It is health, wholeness, well-being, preservation, great, not only peace of mind, great peace of mind on your children. Not only health, great health. Not only well-being, great well-being. The promise is all your children shall be taught by the Lord and great shall be the shalom of your children.
So, if that's true, what is that that God requires of us in order for him to teach our children directly? What is it that God requires of us, amen, for our children to have great shalom? The next verse tells you, in righteousness, you shall be established. The more the father is established... now, when I say father, I mean in a given family, the father is a believer. If you come from family that your husband is not a believer, then you are the leader of the house, amen? Then the promise is for you. You are blessed, your children is blessed, and your husband will be blessed, okay? I'm speaking in a generic way, okay?
So, here it says if I'm established, not if I know about righteousness. "Pastor Prince, I've heard your preach on this. I know about righteousness". I didn't say whether you know, I'm asking are you established? Are you established? The Hebrew word is the word for fixed? Are you established? You believe this, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ", Do you? If you do, great will be the peace of your children. If you do, the Lord himself will teach your children directly and that's why their peace is great, their shalom is great. So, it comes back to us.
When we are full of worry, we are full of care, our children are observing us all the time. Children are amazing. When we are angry, perhaps we're angry with our colleague, the same colleague again, uh? Y'all have them, right? Let's say you're angry, but your child will see the anger in your face. The child won't interpret it as someone else. The child always interprets as themselves. That's why in a divorce case and all that, the someone that suffer the most, the broken pieces are the children. It's not so much the individuals, it's the children. They always blame themself. "Mommy left daddy because of me. Daddy left mama because of me".
It's always they blame themself and the devil is there to help along, and that's why righteousness by faith is a teaching, it's so vital for family well-being. When we, as fathers, we are established in righteousness, there is a rest and the rest affects your children. The atmosphere of the home is more important than even the words you say. You can teach Bible teaching but the atmosphere of the home is not. There's a lot of strife, a lot of anger, a lot of bitterness. Children can sense it. They can sense anger. They can sense, but they don't have to interpret.
The problem is that they can sense it stronger than adults many a times, but they do not know how to interpret it. It's not for them, it's for that colleague. They do not know how to interpret it. Amen, are you listening, people? And you cannot depend the Rock kids, our Sunday schoolteachers alone. You cannot surrender to them once a week time with your children and just say, "well, you know, I'll just let them watch what they want to watch, at least I bring them to church on Sunday". It's not enough. More than anything else, don't have to be religious about it.
You can just say, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ" as you're driving, declare it in front of your children. When you pray, once in a while pray in front of them, amen. The other day I was like exercising and next thing you know, this little seven-year-old was pushing, doing pushup, all right, but his is with the knee down. You know, the he... wah, then I must encourage him. Then he did a sit-up, I love it. They tend to follow you. You know, we impact them more with our example, so I have to keep fit, and you have to keep fit, amen? Yeah, saying, teaching with our words is important.
I'm not saying they're not important, but I'm saying many a times, divine impressions speak louder on them than we can really think of or imagine, amen. Are y'all learning so far? Not only that, when you are established in righteousness. "You shall be far from oppression, for you will not fear; And from terror, for it will not come near you". God promised if you go around declaring, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ", terror will be far from you, oppression will not come near you.
Your children shall be taught by the Lord and great will be their peace, and you'll become the heir of the world and you'll inherit the blessing of Abraham, amen? And you will enjoy all the good things added to you, praise the name of Jesus. And all God says is that, "Believe, believe that what I say is true. I've declared you righteous because of my Son, because of what he did at the cross. Now you declare yourself righteous".
"So, Pastor Prince, what do I need to do"? Okay, first of all, it's righteousness by faith. Say, "Righteousness by faith". Just now I said being justified freely, dorean, without a cause. Now say this, "God has justified me without any cause in me, without any reason in me. He has justified me freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ, amen". Does that feel good? God has justified you without any reason, without any cause in you. All the reason is in him. Mmm, hallelujah.
But notice the promise is not through the law, through the righteousness of faith. Whenever there's faith, there must be declaration. It's not enough to say, "Pastor Prince, I know this teaching, I've heard it. I've heard it many times". I didn't say whether you heard it or you're hearing it even, I'm asking do you declare it? Confession is very important.
In fact, the Bible says in Romans 10, the Word is near you. Look at this... what does it say? The Word is near you in your mouth and in your heart, that is the Word of faith which we preach. That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus as what? As your righteousness as you're about to see right now. And believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This Word saved "sozo" is also the word used for healing. You will be saved. You will be healed. You'll be protected, amen? Then it says, "With the heart, one believes unto righteousness".
So, this confession of Jesus is a confession that Jesus is your righteousness. With the heart, man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. Salvation is a mouthful, all right, salvation is the word "soteria". It includes welfare. In fact, Strong's says of salvation, soteria as prosperity, amen. It is welfare, it is healing. It is wholeness, it is peace. It's a mouthful. In Hebrew, Yeshua, Jesus. His name in the Greek would be "Isus", is actually a Hebrew, you know, what do you call translation, direct translation, but actually it is in Greek, soteria, he'll be called soteria. It's a mouthful.
When you call Jesus, you call health, you call healing, you call prosperity, amen. He's all this to us. Can I have a good amen, church? What is lacking is that we need to confess it. The Word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. It's not enough that you know about it in your mind. You need to say it. You need to proclaim it, amen. You need to say it, hallelujah.
And that's why Isaiah, Prophet Isaiah, saw all of you, you know? He saw all of you and me and this is what he said prophetically of these people in the future in Isaiah 45, "I have sworn by myself the word is", by the way, verse 23 is the one that's used in Philippians that every knee will bow to Jesus and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. It's taken from here. Now, look at this, verse 24, "Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him".
So, in other words, Isaiah saw you and I declaring, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ", amen, right? "Even to him this man who declares shall man come and all that are incensed", or angry, "against him shall be ashamed". Doesn't really matter who is against you, who writes about you, who blogs about you, doesn't really matter. You know what? It is whether their words stick. But if you declare, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ", all that are incensed against you shall be ashamed. "In the Lord shall the seed of Israel be justified", there we go again. And after justification is always glory, and shall glory.
Do you see that? What is lacking? Our confession. We need to declare, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ". Do you know that Jesus today is our high priest? He's a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Do you know what he wants from us? The only thing he wants from us, do you know that, you know what is it? Look at this. Hebrews chapter 3, he's the apostle, "Therefore holy brethren partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and High Priest of our confession". He's the high priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. He's the high priest of what? Our confession, not our thoughts, not our emotions, our confession.
"Pastor Prince, this is the confession of sin", wrong. Because the next chapter tells you, next chapter, "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession". You cannot hold fast to the confession of sin. It's a confession of faith, a confession of hope. Jesus today is listening, out listening for your confession. "I am the righteousness of God in Christ". You know why? When you say that, it's like it reminds him that all he did for you, as far as you are concerned, is not in vain.
The Bible says in Isaiah, he will look at the sufferings he went through and he'll be satisfied. But instead, if you go around saying, you know, "I feel very bad about that. I still, you know, I feel so bad. I feel, you know, I don't think I'm worthy. I don't think God hear my prayer and all that". You know, the Lord looks at that and that kind of confession, the Lord is displeased. You know why? Because you're seeing yourself in yourself. You're not seeing yourself in the Lord, in Christ that God has made you to be. You're not looking at the last man's obedience. You're looking at the first man's disobedience. You are identifying with the wrong man, amen. Friend, if that is you, you are still under law because you are measuring yourself and making yourself fall short. Are you listening, people?
Now, some people have this thought that, "Well, Pastor Prince, you know, we're no more under the law in terms of ceremonial law, all right, killing of animals, we're no more under that but we're still under the Ten Commandments". What the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3, look at this, "God has made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit, the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life". When God gave the law on Mount Sinai, the letter kills, 3,000 people died. It was the first Pentecost, by the way. In the New Testament on the day of Pentecost when God gave the, what? Not the law, the Spirit, 3,000 people were saved, which goes to show the letter kills, the Spirit gives life.
Then the next verse says, "If the ministry of death". Now, the Holy Spirit calls the law the ministry of death, "written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious"? If the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. So, now he calls the law, the Ten Commandments, the ministry of death.
"But Pastor Prince, I think the part that's done away that we're no more under is the killing of animals and all that". Friend, the only part of the law that is engraved on stones. It says the ministry of death written and engraved on stones. Do you see that? I highlight for you so you can see it and make it yellow so you can see it. Can you see it? The only part of the law that was done away, it says done away, all right, the ministry of death that was engraved on stones. The only part that was engraved on stones are the Ten Commandments.
God wrote the Ten Commandments with his finger on stone. The killing of sacrificial victims, animals and all that, were never written on stones. They were written on parchments, so it's very clear we are not under the law, we are under grace. Does that mean that we go out and commit adultery and we commit murder and all that? No friend, you will do more than that. You will not commit, all right, you will actually love your spouse. Are you listening to what I'm saying, amen? Instead of hating someone, you will do more. You will give to him. You will be a blessing to him.
So, grace will accomplish much more, but the more you try to keep the law, it was designed to bring out your sin because the strength of sin is the law. Are you with me so far? So, the way out of any depression, the way to be delivered from every oppression, the way to be blessed by the Lord New Covenant way, it's not going by the old way and trying to keep the commandments as best as you know how and hope that God will see what you're doing and bless you. That way is done away.
The ministry of condemnation, which is the law, had glory. Don't misunderstand, the Bible say it had glory, but the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. We have seen revivals in time past where the law was used and sinners were crying out, and we think that that is revival. It has some glory, right or not? That was glory. People were being saved and all that, that was glory but you ain't seen nothing yet about the ministry of righteousness. It will exceed much more in glory, amen, church? Declare it, "God has justified me". Declare it, "God has justified me without any reason in me by his grace. I am the righteousness of God in Christ". I'll close by sharing with you one testimony, praise the Lord.
This is from Texas, United States, this brother.
As a young five-year-old boy, I asked Jesus into my heart. At the age of nine, just nine, I was introduced to the world of sex. By 12, 12 years old, I had progressed to semi-hardcore pornographic magazines. Along with that, a family friend sexually molested my brother and me for three years. By age 21, I was purchasing porn videos and was addicted, yet with all this, I was still attending church, singing in the choir, and playing the piano. The addiction of pornography consumed me. I was hooked and there didn't seem to be any way out. I soon lost my marriage. I lost my children, lost the church, and my job. I found myself relocating thousands of miles away. After relocating, I soon remarried, but I was still burdened with all my baggage. About seven years ago, my wife started watching Pastor Prince on the Internet and was introduced to his book, "Destined To Reign". I was skeptical about what Pastor Prince was preaching and warned her to be careful.
Very famous statement. You know that if the devil knows that a ministry, a ministry of righteousness producing glory in your life, amen, he will try to assassinate the character of the person, right? So, I'll be worried if there's no persecution.
By the fall of the same year, we had traveled to Houston, and I sat in three Lakewood church services in which Pastor Prince preached. I was blown away by the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I still couldn't grasp it. For the next two years, we kept watching Pastor Prince's broadcast every morning, but I still doubted that Jesus would help me with my addiction. I tried so many methods, but nothing was working and I couldn't experience freedom. I would hear Pastor Prince read the testimonies of others who had delivered from pornography by saying, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus", but it seemed too good to be true. About a year-and-a-half later in the middle of watching a porn video, I quietly said, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus".
Now listen, the last thing you want to do in the natural while watching a porn video in the middle, all right, is to stop and say, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus". That's why it's righteousness by faith. That's why it's righteousness by faith. Are y'all listening? The devil was scream at that time he'll say, "You're a hypocrite. How can you say that? Stop saying that. Don't say that". And yet, Jesus is the high priest of our confession, amen. He loves for you to say that, amen. But he kept on saying, he say that:
I quietly said in the midst of watching, right, I quietly said, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus". I kept saying it the rest of the day, louder and louder. I went through the second day reciting this truth. By the third day, I was questioning, is this for real? Is this possible? The joy, the freedom came in. I wanted to shout from the rooftop that I was unhooked from the addiction of pornography. I've been totally set free for 27 months at the point of this writing.
Hallelujah. Praise the name of Jesus. Come on, church, hallelujah. And it's not just pornography. Any area of your life, whether it's depression, whether it's some sort of addiction to some medication or drugs, whatever it is, the answer is declaring, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ", and see all the bad things in your life just fall away, amen? And see all the good things being added. And when you are blessed, your family is blessed, amen. You'll be the heir of the world. And best of all, the Lord will be happy because God today is not the same God of the Old Testament. He's the same God, don't misunderstand me. But in the old, there was no cross. He had to punish sin, but he was the judge in the Old Testament. But under the New Covenant, God is your justifier.
Listen, if God is your judge, you cannot be saved but if God is your justifier, you cannot be lost, amen. Give him praise, hallelujah, hallelujah! Praise the name of Jesus. Every head bowed, every eye closed all across this place and everywhere that's watching this right now, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved and your house. Friend, wherever you are right now, if you believe the good news, that is the good news, that be the obedience of one man, you become righteous. If you believe that, pray this prayer with me right now.
Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Christ died for my sins. Christ took my judgment and condemnation upon himself on that cross. He exhausted it all, finished it all, and he was raised from the dead when you declared me righteous. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior. From now on, Father, thank you that you see me always as righteous in Christ. In Jesus's name, amen.
Stand to your feet, praise the Lord. We never take God's divine protection for granted, amen. Now you are the righteousness of God in Christ, remember this, your prayers are powerful. Your prayers avail much, amen. Others can pray wanting to be right, but you can pray with relaxed attitude, amen, knowing that God hears your prayer, praise the Lord, and your prayers avail much. Lift your hands all across this place.
This coming week, my friends, in the name of the Lord Jesus, every single one of you and all those in Grace Revolution Church, the Lord bless you and your loved loved ones. The Lord bless you with the blessings of Abraham, the blessing of Deuteronomy 28. May they manifest in your life even this week. And the Lord keep you, preserve, and protect you from all harm, you and your loved ones from every danger, from every infection, from every disease, from terror, from evil people, and from all the powers of darkness through the blood of his Son. The Lord smiles on you, favors you, and the Lord lift up his countenance and grant to you and your families his great shalom peace, health, and well-being. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all the people said? Keep coming to church. Keep on hearing the good news, and keep on being blessed more and more, amen. God bless you.