Joseph Prince - Feed On God's Word For Your Healing And Success
Our Lord Jesus is wonderful, amen, healing of cancer, deliverance from smoking addiction. We are having these testimonies all the time, not just from our church, from all over the world. You know, when there are voices that come against this wonderful gospel that Jesus died to give us, you don't have to defend the gospel anymore than you need to defend a lion from her enemies. Let the gospel defend itself. The testimonies that have come out of this, lives transformed, marriages put together, bodies healed, especially people suffering from addictions have been set free, all kinds of addictions. We give all the glory to Jesus and his name, amen?
You know, sometimes people want that kind of evangelistic results in a church. They want the razzle-dazzle. They want the spectacular, but God's ways with his children is quiet and powerful. Sometimes you don't even know what's happening. Yesterday, I had an amazing manifestation of something that I've been believing God for quite sometime. You know, on my neck here, you can't see it from where you are but all those close to me, all my pastors, they know that there is like a polyp growing on the left side of my neck and it's very outstanding.
It's been there for years, all right? Doesn't cause me problems, just that when I put on my shirt and all that, you know, it brushes against it and then you have a consciousness, you don't want to, you know? It's like a big mole hanging down here. Those who are close to me, they have seen it before. So, what happened is that only recently I got frustrated with it. And, of course, the easy way to go to a doctor and then have it removed, you know? But I said, "Let me just do this", all right? I said, "Polyp, be thou plucked up by your root and be thou planted in the sea, in Jesus's name".
All right, I kept on saying that every day, sometimes in front of my wife, most of the time on my own. I said, "I curse you to your roots in Jesus's name". All right, I don't know how many days I did that, all right? But yesterday I was about to drive my car, my wife was beside me and she says, "Darling, it's all dried up". It's of a certain size already but when it dried up, it became so small, you know, it's all dried up.
So, I touched it, it was flaky, you know? You can just pull it out, but I decided not to. And I went for my lunch later on and I bumped into Pastor Lawrence, so I showed him my dried-up polyp. He's the last one to see it because by nighttime, it fell off. It fell off in my, and when it fell off it was, you know, it was not the size of all those years. It become so small, all dried up. So, I threw it into the toilet bowl and the revelation of the Word came to me, "Be thou plucked out by the roots and be thou planted". I don't know where it goes but somewhere along the way, all right, to the sea. You can find it down there if you want, you know? Praise God.
Okay, church, this is a personal thing for me. You can see the place where it used to be now, just a slight red mark there. And, you know, this has been bothering me for years. You know, sometimes you want to scratch but, you know, you're concerned about that thing down there. You know that kind of feeling? Not that it's causing problems but until you get mad, until you say, "Enough is enough, I want to get rid of this".
See, it is God's will, all right, for us to be healed and some people argue about that. We are beyond that already, all right? We got no time to argue with people when people's lives are at stake, all right? Your doctrinal, so-called, your doctrinal purity, quote, unquote, is not even purity, all right? It's not the question when somebody's life lies at the brink. And even these people with so-called doctrinal orthodoxy or whatever, when their own child is sick, there goes the Orthodox doctrine out the window, amen? They will try their very best to get their child healed, I'm telling you because it's instinctive in every human being that God wants us well, we know it, amen. Doctors know it.
You know, we know that God never made for us to die. Even death itself, the Bible calls death the last enemy, amen? The fulfillment of it, actually, we have crossed beyond death to life, we believers. We are resurrected beings, resurrected spirits in an unresurrected body. The only thing left is when Jesus comes again, all right, is that there'll be a great shout. We'll all be transformed in the twinkling of an eye and straightaway we have our brand-new, gloriously resurrected body, amen, a body that will never decay, never grow old, never even have a trace of a wrinkle, all right, no disease. Imagine all of us good-looking.
Turn to your neighbor and say, "There is hope for your, brother. There's hope for you, sister". And everyone shout, "There's hope for you, Pastor Lawrence". Come on. Of course, he feels deep down in his heart, deep, deep down he feels like he doesn't need a new body. Y'all don't be busy body, yeah, okay? Are y'all ready for God's Word? Let's go right into God's Word. Remember that healing is provided for us but until you get mad and you say that, "no, I'm not gonna allow the devil to". All right, don't forget what Jesus said. Jesus says, "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven".
In the rabbinical teaching, all right, in the rabbinical idea the rabbis tell us that even the rabbis they are given keys where they permit some things to happen and they don't permit some things to happen. Well, Jesus has even greater keys, amen, the key of David. And the thing is that that word there doesn't say what God binds, what God disallow, all right, then it will be disallowed on earth. No, God says, "What you prohibit, what you bind, what you disallow, I will disallow in heaven. Whatever you allow, I will allow in heaven".
So, those that believe in the doctrine, all right, God wants some of us sick and all that, usually it's not them, it's others. It's not their family, it's always others. Those who believe that God wants some of us sick, they never include themself because when they are sick, you see where they run to the first thing, all right? If you believe... I know some people believe that, you know, God makes you sick to teach you a lesson. If that is true, then why are you going to the doctor to get out of God's lesson?
You see, your behavior betrays you, all right? But the thing is that healing has been provided. You must say, "I disallow this". And for me I got tired finally, all right, of this thing on my neck for years. Only when I got tired, I started commanding, cursing it consistently. All right, I don't know how many days it took, all right? And the length is not the important thing. The important thing is that consistency and believing that God wants you to free even from this problem, amen? Amen, church?
So, God wants you well. Turn to your neighbor and say, "God wants you well". You know if you are sick, the thing you should do is that you should spend time, all right, just saturating yourself with the Word of God, just bathe in the Word of God, amen. I mean you cannot say, "Well, Pastor Prince, I need my break, break from God's Word, break". All right, nowadays God has given us the iPods. Pod carries seeds. The incorruptible seed of the Word of God, amen.
Do you know that the cancer in that person's body doesn't take break? You know, the disease that's killing someone doesn't take breaks. It works 24 hours. So, if you have been diagnosed, I'm saying if you've been diagnosed, you fight it back 24 hours, amen. You saturate yourself with the Word of God. You keep on hearing sermons that build faith, that preach the truth and the truth will set you free. Amen, church? And many a times the condition will just leave, all right, supernaturally natural because God's Word is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.
Let's put it up right now. "For the word of God is living and powerful", living, opposite of death. Wherever God's Word goes, it makes that place come alive, amen. The Word of God is living, it's powerful. It's not weak. It's powerful, efficacious, amen. Powerful to deliver, powerful to affect, powerful to perform, amen. And sharper. Wow, look at this sharper. It's sharper than any two-edge sword. It's a terminology used for modern man, for modern medicine even.
What is sharper than any two-edged sword? It did not exist in the time that Paul wrote this. There is nothing sharper than any two-edged sword. Even to find a two-edged sword during Paul's time is a specialty, amen. It cuts both ways. But what is sharper than a sword that cuts both ways during Paul's time? Laser. Laser, wherever your cut laser, laser cuts. You touch laser, all right, it cuts. You touch a sword at the right side, it won't cut. You touch it on the broadside, it won't cut you. But laser, any way you touch laser, it cuts, all right? So, it's sharper than any, but even laser cannot reach where God's Word can reach, all right? It is penetrating. "It is piercing even to the division of soul and spirit". Wow, soul and spirit.
Some people don't even define soul and spirit. You know what's soul and spirit? In short let me just give it to you, okay? Soul is you talking, all right? Spirit is God's Spirit, where he dwells in your spirit and he is talking. Would you like to know sometimes, "Is this God talking in me? Is this thoughts from God? Are these thoughts from me, all right? This prompting I have, is it me? Is it God? Is it me? Is it God"? It's a million-dollar question the people are asking always. "Is this me? Is this God? Is this me"? What they are basically saying is, "Is this soul, me, or is this Spirit, God"?
Your spirit is not God but God dwells in your spirit. So, the way you can tell is that when you spend time in the Word, all right, the Word of God, it gives you that sensitivity for you to tell the difference, even the division, the dividing asunder, Old King James. The division, New King James says, "The division of soul and spirit". Nothing can divide soul and spirit except God's Word. It tells you there's a soul, there's a spirit. The very dividing line it tells you, that's how sharp it penetrates. Not only that, it penetrates to the joints and marrow.
Now, it comes to our physical body. That's why when you hear God's Word, it has a health and a health benefit, healing benefit. It's like medicine. It affects your joints. Are your joints hurting you? God's Word can heal your joints. I'll tell you something, the marrow is the part where blood is manufactured. And, you know, when doctors want to diagnose a disease, what do they do? Do they take your earwax? What do they do? They examine your blood, amen?
Well, God is saying, "My Word can reach the very place where blood is manufactured, the marrow, and I can affect your blood. I can cleanse your blood. I can purify your blood". And when blood is purified, your whole system benefit, amen? You become radiant, your eyes become bright, you have a spring in your step, you feel good, amen. So, joints and marrow. And joint and marrow, where does marrow become marrow and where is joint a joint? It's very close together, but God's Word can penetrate through that, amen? You know, there are some cases where a tumor has grown to such an extent that doctor says, "Send this loved one home, it's a matter of time", because they dare not cut.
There's nothing they can cut through where the vessels has interloped or whatever, or interlaced, and they dare not risk the man dying on the operating table. All right, the risks are too great. Let me tell you this, God's Word can go exactly where it's supposed to cut. There's no medicine that can do this. Are you listening to what I'm saying, people? I say there's no medicine that can do this.
Today I want to share with you something that I think has been boiling in my heart for some time now. It's been coming out in my sermon here and there as well, you know, and I thank God that this is a Word church. We love God's Word, don't we? We love this sacred volume, amen? We believe that this Bible is a gift from God that you can hold this side of heaven. It's the only physical thing that you can touch and feel, amen?
Listen carefully, every time you come to church, it is not like going for a movie. It is not like going to attend a business conference. Many a times it can even mean life and death, you know? People can fall asleep during a football match, but you fall asleep during God's Word, the Bible says your poverty comes. That's in the Book of Proverbs. Have you read that before, amen? We have an example in the Bible. Someone fell asleep during the preaching of Paul and Paul was a great preacher, but he preached way too long.
So, this boy fell asleep from the third loft, the Bible tells us, you know? And they all rushed downstairs. He was dead, but Paul raised him from the dead. So, the only negative experience we have of someone sleeping, all right, during the preaching. But the funny thing is sometimes some things are warfare. When it comes to opening the Bible, you feel tired. When you read magazine you don't, you know? And yet this is the greatest need. I mean it is more drama than your Korean drama series. I mean, there is a brother trying to deceive his half sister because he's in love with her. I mean this is modern soap opera, kind of, but this is real, you know?
And then the story of a man who is in love with his girlfriend and he serves seven years. And the Bible says these words, "And they were but a few days", these seven years, because of the love he had for her. It's romantic. Even tells you how to describe things to your wife. "You are altogether lovely", you know? It's like a wife one day, you know, she looked in the mirror and she says, "Darling, I don't like what I see. Please, please tell me something nice". The husband looked at her and say, "Your eyesight is working perfectly".
So, but the Song of Solomon will tell you how to express. It tells you you can never over express when it comes to your wife amen. It tells you "O fairest among women", amen. I used to read that and say, "God, if this is like teach us guys how to love our wives, of course, the main thing about the Song of Songs is about our Lord Jesus and the church, the bride. It's a beautiful story". But the sublayer of that is that it also teaches husbands, love your wife. Tells you how to express. It is all words, man, amen. It's not just action. I know that love is action.
Some guys say, "Well, it's all words. Words are nothing. I show my love my providing". I tell you this, they don't want just your providing, okay? They want words. "It's only words. Words are all I have to take your heart away". That's an old hymn, again. So, it has enough drama. It tells us in the Book of Genesis how everything began. It tells us the drama even in Daniel, Daniel has a vision of the four beasts, all right? And these four beasts, you can study history. You can find that what came after Babylonian and that's when Daniel had the vision.
So, in other words, he was during the Babylonian time, but he had a vision of Medo-Persian of the Grecian and the Grecian, the beast, run so fast you can hardly, the vision he saw cannot touch the ground. It has four wings at the back of this leopard that he saw, and that's Alexander the Great. And it tells us that Alexander was cut off at a young age. It's all there. And Alexander lived long after Daniel. Daniel was in the Babylonian time. You know, so you think about it, the drama, the excitement, it tell us what's gonna happen in the end times.
So, if you feel in the mood to express your heart to God, there's the Book of Psalms. You know, you all know the beautiful psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want", amen. The Lord with me, underneath me, green pastures beside me, still waters in front of me, table, around me, surrounding me, my enemies, amen, chasing me, after me. Goodness and mercy. Ahead of me, the house of the Lord. And it tells you, I mean when you meditate on God's Word, just quote God's Word, "There's power, there's health, there's life", amen? "Pastor Prince, I know Psalms 23 by heart".
You'll be surprised. You'll be surprised. One time I thought I knew Psalms 23 by heart some years ago, and I began to meditate on it day and night. And I went to our worship team devotion to share something with them. On my way there I was meditating, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters". It's like he's talking to someone, most likely himself. He's not talking to the Lord.
He says, "The Lord is my shepherd. He makes me lie down. He leads me". Notice that? He didn't say, "You lead me, you make me lie down". But notice all of a sudden when he faces the valley of the shadow of death, David in that psalm he says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod, your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table". So, in other words, I saw the change. I never heard anyone preach that. I never saw that. And I thought I knew Psalms 23. So from there I began to realize that, you know, when you go through a crisis, it's not a matter of sharing with people about what the Lord is to you. It's a matter of talking to the Lord yourself, amen. It's a matter of talking to the Lord yourself. Are you with me, church?
So, the Word of God is inspired, all right, and it goes all the way to it's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It goes right to your motives. Motives are everything. You see two persons doing the same thing, wonderful act, self-sacrificial by all outward appearances, but only God knows the motives. It will purify your motives, amen? It is so powerful. God's Word is wonderful. But the thing is this, there are people who say, "You know, Pastor Prince, when I read God's Word, you know, I get no benefit. You know, I don't seem to get any benefit from God's Word. I just go through and that's what it is, I go through and it goes through me, okay"?
And for the sake of those who were not here a few weeks ago when I shared that story, true story of a farmer, it bears repeating because this message is complete by itself. The farmer told his son who was complaining a few days earlier that he doesn't understand the Bible, "So what use is there in the reading the Bible"? So, the father sent the son for an assignment, gave him a basket say, "Water the patch of vegetables here". So, the son went, all right, the basket. By the time he reached the patch of vegetables, all the water was gone. Say, "Dad, what do I do now"? Say, "Go again".
And this happened about three times. Finally the son got frustrated. "Dad, I don't understand why you are sending me to take water in a basket full of holes". The father says, "Look at the basket, look at how clean the basket is". So, it doesn't matter when you get God's Word, all right, and you're a basket case, all right, doesn't really matter. When you get God's Word and you think even God's Word is leaking, all right, now look at how clean you are. There's a cleansing effect when you read God's Word, amen.
There's a cleansing effect. Just reading, you know, it's amazing just reading the stories, the psalms, the historical books, the poetry books and reading Paul's writings, the Book of Romans, it establishes you in righteousness, reading the Book of Thessalonians, the Book of Timothy for pastors, especially. It's just simply amazing at the cleansing effect. Are you listening? All right, you need to get into this book.
Now, today, there are people coming against the inspiration of the Scriptures in a very subtle way, even in charismatic circles. So I wanna go right now to show you that in 2 Timothy 3 it says: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God". The Greek word there is theopneustos. It is a word used only one time in the entire Bible by Paul. Only one time. It's a very unique word, even in classical Greek literature. You don't find it very often. Very rarely used. Used only one time by Paul, all right? And it says, "Inspiration of God". Literally, theopneustos. Theopneustos means God-breathed, God... breathed.
"All Scripture is given by the breath of God". Are you listening, people? "All Scripture is given by the breath of God". Now, is all Scripture true? Okay, be careful when someone, you know, there are professors in so-called colleges that try to deceive Christians by saying, "Is all the Bible true"? Be careful how you answer that. Say, "All the Bible is inspired, but not everything in the Bible is the truth". Sometimes somebody lied and it's accurately recorded. For example, the devil lied in the Garden of Eden. He says, "You will not die". You will find that in the Bible. The words, "You will not die", is in the Bible. Is that the truth? No. But it is accurately recorded.
So when someone says, "Is the entire Bible, every line is true", all right? You ask them, "What do you mean by true"? It is God-breathed. God, the Holy Spirit, recorded everything truthfully, but not everything is the truth that sets you free, amen? When God speaks there's authority. You must understand authority and accuracy. Every word is accurate, is God-breathed. Then we come to the next thing. It says, "God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness".
So my message is about the righteousness of God which comes as a gift and it's amazing, many believers don't even know that. I hear even seasoned preachers saying things like, "You know what we must do? We must get more righteousness in our life". And I'm like, "Duh"? You can get more holiness, all right? You can get more holy, but you cannot get more righteous. Do you understand? "I need to get more man in me". No, you were born a man. Likewise, you are born again righteous, okay? Amen?
Now, you can be a righteous man behaving unholy, all right? That's different. Holiness is different. Holiness, you walk holy to glorify the Lord. Anyone who commits adultery, lives in adultery, all right, has no compunction of sin, okay, no respect for the holy institution of marriage. Anyone in adultery, they need to know this. You have no love in your heart for the Lord, enough to glorify him. You see, it's all about glorifying the Lord. Holiness is about glorifying the Lord. It's not about losing salvation.
Some people were, "Yes, you know, you commit adultery, you have lost your salvation". No, any more than you are complaining you lose your salvation. It is still sin but is there a difference in sin? Yes, there is. The Bible tells us: "Flee sexual lust. Flee fornication". Every sin that a man commits is outside his body but he who commits sexual adultery, fornication, sins against his own body. "What does that mean, Pastor Prince"? I've got no time to tell you. I quote that to let you know there are differences of effects in sin.
So don't think for one moment that sin, you know, all sins are, shake them in one bag, they're all in same bag. They're not. Adultery has an effect that causes wound and dishonor in a man's life, that sometimes will never depart, all right? It has a effect on your body that other sins don't have. I just quoted that verse. What does that mean? Will it mean that the person fall sick, whatever? I don't want to expand at this time. I'm just telling you it's a serious sin. Adultery is a serious sin. "Amen, Pastor Prince. Praise God, hallelujah".
Are my leaders living in adultery? No, not that I know of. I'm not preaching this because they are. I'm just telling you the Word of God is the Word of God is the Word of God, all right? Culture can change, you know, seasons can change. People can change, you know? But God's Word will never change. Jesus says, "Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away". If a guy can commit adultery with, you know, against his wife with a woman, woman, you are next. He is willing to commit adultery with you and he'll promise you the sun and the moon and the stars, just know this. If he can be unfaithful to this woman whom he pledged his troth, all right, you are next. This is what we wanna do for guys who commit adultery, amen?
"I don't like you, Pastor Prince". The same, I don't like you also. I love you, I'm telling the truth, amen? I'm preaching because I love you, amen? But I don't like adulterers. I don't like adulterers. And to think that a woman can believe a guy who commits adultery, promising him, "You're so beautiful, you know, my wife doesn't satisfy me". And one day you'll be the wife. Remember, one day you'll be the wife. He can say it now, he'll say it. That's why those who commit adultery, the wife, the one that he commit adultery for, now become the "new wife", they never have real security, amen?
So there comes a new thought. And a new thought among charismatic circles is this. "You know, they say that the Bible is wonderful, the Bible is wonderful, I love God's Word, you know. Amazing, it contains God's thoughts". No, it doesn't contain God's thoughts. It is God's thoughts. So they say, like, "'Inspired Scripture,' all right? It is inspired. Yes, amen. But what they mean is that the idea, the truths are inspired. But the words are men's words. In other words, you know, some words are just poetic license, you know? Just an expression, you know what I'm saying? Word for word it's not inspired. The idea of the truth, the subject is inspired but word for word inspiration", that is where I see the world heading.
And the danger of believing this is that all of a sudden you look at the Bible and you say, "Well, I know the truth of the gospel. Well, I know the truth about righteousness. I know", and that was you, you're saying you got the idea. But you don't live by ideas. Matthew 4:4: "When the tempter came to Jesus, he said, 'If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.' But Jesus answered and said, 'It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word'", every word, not ideas, not subjects, every word, "that proceeds from the mouth of God". That proceeds from the Word of God, every word. Every word is inspired and through God's providential care over the holy Scriptures, it has been passed down from generations to generations.
The apostle Paul says of the, you know, if you talk about the greatest accomplishment of the Jewish people, the main reason why God raised them, all right, the apostle Paul answers that in Romans. He says, "Chiefly", that means mainly, "to them were committed the oracles of God". God entrusted the Scriptures to them and I'm telling you they are so faithful in recording the Scriptures that we don't have the original copy that God told Moses, all right? God says, "Write this in the book", okay? And then later on God told Moses, "Take this book, put it by the side of the ark of the covenant", which means the roll of the book, the first time Scripture was written on parchment, all right?
First of all, it was written, you know, it can be written on papyri, all right? The first means of paper that came from Egypt. But most of it's written on clean animals, the skin, all right? They would write letter by letter by letter and they would count the letters on a certain page. The letters cannot join each other. The moment there's an error, a wrong stroke, or the letters just touch another letter, the whole scroll is rejected. And then the scroll is rejected, they have to bury it. They don't burn it. They bury it near the synagogue.
That's how accurate and they will wash their hands, all right, and say a prayer before they write the name Yud, Hei, Vav, Hei. Every time they come to Yud, Hei, Vav, Hei, all right, there's such reverence. These are the people that God committed the Word of God to. And when you think about the idea of inspiration, the Old Testament not only talks about their glories, it talks about their sins, their rebellions, how they rebelled, how they worshiped idols, how the Babylon king Nebuchadnezzar came because they were worshiping idols. All that was recorded by them. Even though it's against them, they write it faithfully. That tells you how authentic it is.
You know, when you write your own autograph, if you write your own autograph, all the bad things the world won't see. When God writes, all right, just to confirm the authenticity, they are willing to write things against themselves. Word for word inspired. God kept the Scriptures. Two thousand years ago, all right, a group of people called the Essenes, they copied the book of Isaiah. How do we know that? Because recently, not too long ago, in the '40s a shepherd boy was a Bedouin, a Bedouin boy, and he heard a clunk in a cave. He went to the cave. He found some old scrolls. Because it's the lowest place on planet earth, it's very dry and that's why it's been preserved and, upon studies, it's found that there's 2000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls.
Now why is this discovery so monumental? Because they also found the book of Isaiah and you know what? Isaiah, 2000-years-old copy of Isaiah, not the original copy of course, but a copy of copy, copy, faithfully recorded and God providentially protected for us today. They found it word for word accurate. Our Bible today, with Isaiah that was discovered, a few pages of Isaiah, they discovered, you know, word for word. Talk about accuracy. Are you listening, people?
So notice how Jesus defended, not the idea and the charismatics of the next people, they're quite notorious and they don't read the Bible, they just go by what did God say? Oh yes, thus says the Lord. They go by prophecy and all that. I'm not knocking that, okay? I believe in prophecy. Earlier this year I gave you a word. Every year I give you a word and many a times my leaders know when I gave a word, all right, even before something's happened, but I don't go and lift it up from its setting. It is a means, it is a weapon, it is a gift, all right? But this is number one in our lives. One thing needful. Are you listening, people?
Have you noticed, Jesus did not say, the Father just spoke to Jesus, "You are my beloved Son", and then Jesus went to the wilderness. And the devil came and said, "If you are the Son of God, turn these stones to bread". Jesus never answered, "When I came out from the water, the Father spoke", huh? The Father, no, huh? "My Father spoke and my Father says, 'You're my beloved Son, me'", all right? "My Father spoke". He didn't even go by what the Father spoke. And what the Father spoke, all right, is accurate. It's from God. It's authoritative yet he never quoted it. You know what he quoted? The Scriptures.
The Son of God has such a respect for the Scriptures that in his weapon against Satan, even though he's the Son of God, standing in his own authority, I mean, you saw him casting out devils and all that. But yet with Satan, no, he says, "It is written". It is written. He went by what is written. Charismatics need to learn this, amen. They didn't go back to the Bible and learn, "It is written". Read what is written. You gotta have your Bibles everywhere in your room, everywhere in your rooms, I should say, in your bathrooms especially. When you sit down there, don't look at the tiles and see, "This shape, it look like my boss, his face. Now, this one looks like my boss, his bald head over here", all right? And you'll make designs on it. You know, I look at this and going somewhere to happen, you know? Put the Bible there.
You know, some of you have a rack but it's full of magazines that won't get you life. They won't prosper you. Whereas this book, just coming in touch with it, the Bible says, all right, you'll make your way prosperous and you will have good success. You will have good success and whatever you do prospers, Psalms 1. Your leaf will not wither. Whatsoever is an all-encompassing promise. Whatever you do prospers. There is no one thing that a person does that prospers you in every area. All the success conferences in the world teach you to succeed in this area, how to sell more, all right, how to increase your profit margin or this kind of thing.
But there can be public success but private failures at home, all right? But God says whatever you do prospers when you touch my Word. That means your marriage, your children, everything will prosper, amen. Sometimes when people start having problems in their marriage or having problems with their children and all that, the last thing they look for is that they don't even realize they are hungry. They've not been cracking the Bible open.
"But I go to church on Sunday". That's good, that's very good. "And I go to New Creation Church". Wah, that is so good. There are many, many good churches, all right, around the world and in Singapore but I'm so glad you are here because you can hear what I have to say, all right? I don't know what the rest are saying but at least you get to hear what I'm saying, you know? There are many, many good churches, okay? And never, never come to a place you think you are the right one, okay? We are one of the right ones, okay? But there are many good churches. So the thing is this, all right? Coming to church on Sunday alone is not enough because I know you all. When you all eat, you all just don't eat on once a week, you all eat, I think, every day. Not only that, in one day, many of you eat many times, okay? And we don't realize this is powerful. This is champion's food. It's a gift from God.
Why did God protect the Scriptures in its accuracy, okay? And then there's this thing, especially among the charismatics, you know, "I don't read the Word, you know, because it's very dry". That word, that statement, came from the devil. "Well, Pastor Prince, it's the letter that kills". That is a misinterpretation. Where you got that from, "the letter that kills"? Can you quote that verse of Scripture in its entirety, all right? In other words, they say that the letter kills so I don't read the Word, all right? No, you're misinterpreting that Scripture.
Let me show you the Scripture in its context, all right? Those who are with me for some time, you know. 2 Corinthians 3: "God made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life". What is he talking about? Next verse: "But", but is a continuation, "if the ministry of death, written, engraved on stones, was glorious", okay? But it's called the ministry of death. What ministry is that? The Ten Commandments because the Ten Commandments is the only part of the law that's engraved on stones, and God calls it the ministry of death.
And that's why I'm trying to free the church from death in the power of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. It's the ministry of death. When God gave the Ten Commandments, 3000 people died, amen? What feast was that? The very first feast of Pentecost. That's why the Bible says in Acts 2, "When the Day of Pentecost was fully come", the new Pentecost, "God gave the Spirit", not the law and 3000 people were saved. Which goes to show the Ten Commandments is the ministry of death. The law kills but the Spirit gives life, amen?
"Well, Pastor Prince, if you don't teach the Ten Commandments people won't know how they must not murder". No, no, no, Cain knew murder is wrong long before the Ten Commandments was given. "Well, if you don't give the Ten Commandments people won't know adultery is wrong". You don't need the Ten Commandments, all right? Long before the Ten Commandments was given, Poti's, Poti's wife, Potiphar's wife was trying to seduce young handsome Joseph and Joseph says, "How can I commit this great wickedness"? That's what he calls adultery. "How can I commit this great wickedness", all right? Adultery is great wickedness. It's not just wicked, it's great wickedness. And he said, he lived 400 years before the Ten Commandments was given, yeah?
Whereas the devil is using the law, all right? The law is holy, just, and good but it has no power to justify you, no power to make you holy, okay? The law become a competitor to Christ, all right? By the law is the knowledge of sin. By Christ is the knowledge of righteousness as a gift, okay? Are you with me so far? So in that context, the ministry of death, "the letter kills" is what? The law. The whole context is very clear. It is not referring to God's Word. It's not referring to the holy Scriptures. So they are charismatic.
Take this verse out of context there, "You know, I don't read the Bible much because... you must be careful you read the Bible, you know, must ask the Holy Spirit pray in tongues for one hour before or else become the letter that kills". Now, you're putting a lot of hoops for people to jump through before they can get revelation when even a child can understand the Bible. Jesus said it one time: "Father, I thank you, you have hid these things from the wise and prudent of the world and you have revealed them unto babes. You have revealed them unto babes", Jesus said.
Babies can understand God's Word, amen? I said babies can understand God's Word, amen. Now, of course, they love the stories that's designed for them, like David and Goliath, Noah's Ark. That's where all the stories of babies are, around this stories. Everything in the Bible, you know, and the same story, Noah's Ark, when you read it again, you find, "I didn't know that this was here. I didn't know he was there".
Of course, Pastor Prince cannot preach everything, one hour, so people cannot take it already. No, I don't receive complaints, okay? But you know, that's the the beauty of variety of churches in Singapore and all over the world. You don't like our church, there are many other churches to go to. Free up the place please. We need people who enjoy the Word for at least an hour. But the thing is this, one hour pass by so fast, you don't even know. How many understand that?
So we have seen how people misquote this "letter kills" thing, all right? Are you with me? Let's see how the apostles value the Scriptures. Is it like idea or word for word? You know, Psalms 22 is a very famous Psalms, all right? It's the Psalm that begins with, "O my God, my God, why have you forsaken me"? The Psalm of the Messiah. Written 1,000 years before Jesus came as a baby, born in human flesh. And the Messiah was crying and in that Psalm you will find they pierced my hands and my feet, pierced my hands and my feet. Crucifixion wasn't a known execution form at that time, all right? Crucifixion came later through the Persians. The Romans improved it and made it worse.
It is a worse form of slow death known to man, still is the worst. Not one of the worst. The worst form of slow death is crucifixion, all right? The Persians started it, then the Romans perfected it, but this happened after Psalms 22 was written. And during David's time, the capital punishment was through stoning, not crucifixion. Yet David said, "By the Spirit", so even men wrote, men spoke, but every word came from God. How many understand? Every Scripture's God-breathed, hallelujah.
So he wrote Psalms 22, and in Psalms 22, all right, verse 22, David says, "I'll declare your name to my brethren". Now David is saying, but actually, Jesus is saying it. He's prophesying. It's a prophecy of the Messiah on the cross. So Jesus is saying at the cross, "I'll declare your name to my brethren". Say "brethren". "In the midst of the assembly I will praise you". For people who say the Bible is just idea inspired but not word for word inspired.
Let me show you right now how the apostles saw the Scriptures. This one word, "brothers", just one word, look at how much they accord the respect to just one single word from the Psalms, all right? They didn't say that this word is poetic license and he put it down there to make it sound better. You know, from this one word the apostle Paul, whom I believe is the author of Hebrews, wrote Hebrews 2 and says: "Both Jesus who makes holy and those who are being made holy are all of one, for which reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: 'I'll declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I'll sing praise to You'".
Every time you praise and worship he's in the midst singing praise to the Father. He's the real worship leader. Hey, people, look at this. From one word the apostle Paul seize that and says, "Jesus calls us brothers. He's not ashamed to call us brothers". He's not ashamed. You know why? Because he sanctifies us, he makes us holy, and we who are made holy, who are sanctified, we are all one. I said we are all one. When God looks at Jesus, God sees you, amen? When God sees you, God sees Jesus. Isn't that cool?
When you come to God you should have that in your mind, all right? He who sanctifies means he who makes holy is Jesus and the one being made holy is all of us. We are all one. And this doctrine came from just one word from the Psalms: brethren. Think about that. In Jeremiah 31:31, 31:31, God promised, "Behold, I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah", right? You know how the apostle see that? We'll just confine our arguments from Hebrews, okay?
In Hebrews chapter 8, the apostle Paul quotes Jeremiah 31:31 but first it says: "For if that first covenant", of law, we know the first covenant is law. In other words, if you keep all the law, God says, "I'll bless you. You break one, I'll curse you". And that system, God found fault with that system because you know why? He loves you. God loves you. "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, God says: 'Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant'", do you see that? Just one word.
There are those who say, "Why you split the hairs over one word? Don't you know the Bible is just ideas, you know? The idea is important. The idea is important. The truth is important. It's not the word for word, you know"? But not the apostles. They say word for word inspired. They built a doctrine on just one word, one phrase. Like, for example, new covenant. The apostle Paul went into an argument about the new covenant, you know, and he quotes the new covenant from Jeremiah 31.
The entire quotation is here but let's drop down to verse 12 and the last part of the new covenant says: "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more". Now, the apostle Paul writes by the spirit: "In that God says, 'A new covenant'", when God says a new covenant, "He has made the first obsolete". Can you see that? Like, you know, I said before, your husband comes home, he says that this is my new wife. What does that make you? A murderer, you kill him then and there, right, you know?
So the thing is this. When someone says, "I got a new TV", that means your TV has become old. I don't care if you bought it last week, all right, he change his mind. I have a new car. Even he bought the car, the previous car, last month, all right? Now he has a new car. That car has become old. So in other words, the apostle Paul argue from that one word, argue from one word. The Scriptures has been providentially protected down through the centuries. It was written over 16 centuries by over 40 authors, some of them kings, some of them fishermen, some publicans, one doctor, and on and on and on. All walks of life but they were just secretaries.
God made sure when God breathed on them and God watched over every word so when the Bible says: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not lack", old English, I shall not want, it means I shall not want. It was not put there, all right, because of poetic expression. Are you with me? You know, the best thing about inspiration, we can study, like, the Byzantine text and how later on, you know, this is the Textus Receptus that people use for the King James Version, you know, how accurate it is and how other versions are trying to, you know, make this appear like a lot of faults and all that but we can argue about that until, you know, we are here for the next few days.
But for me, the best authority, number one, that settles the argument is our Lord Jesus Christ. How does he see the holy Scriptures? Where we just saw. He said, "It is written". The audacity to face Satan with only, "It is written". Not in his power as the Son of God, but "it is written". Not even the power of what the Father just spoke to him. But "It is written". Can you say, "It is written"? It is written, it is written. Three times the devil came to him and three times he says, "It is written". He didn't back away from the use of the sword, amen. How did Jesus see the Bible? Does Jesus believe word for word inspiration?
Well, we look at one particular chapter and what happened was this. Let me show you the background. The Sadducees, you know, the two groups of people, the two largest religious groups during Jesus's time were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees don't believe in resurrection of the body, all right, in the end times. But the Pharisees believe in that. So they both are at loggerheads with each other, all right? The Sadducees don't believe in resurrection. That's why they are sad to see, you know, but the Pharisees, they magnify the law and they add their own laws and they use the law to condemn people.
Okay, so Jesus is in the midst of them. These two groups came against Jesus in this chapter and then the Sadducees spoke up and the Sadducees says, "Lord, we have a question to ask you". You know, I love it, you know, when people ask me a question sometimes, they'll give me some weird farfetched question like, "Pastor Prince, let's say this person receive Jesus Christ. That is, we do not know whether he did or not, okay? Based on what you say, lah. You say he received so I have to go by what you say. He received Jesus Christ. After that he became a pastor, make it very difficult. He became a pastor. For many years he was a pastor. Then, after that, wow, you know, he left the church, left everything, left his wife and he became the priest of ABC Religion. Now, Pastor Prince, is that guy saved or not? Since you believe in eternal security, is that guy".
They love this kind of farfetched, you know, they love it. I got only one answer. When you were a sinner, no matter what good thing you do, can you become righteous by what you do? No, what the first Adam did was so strong, so efficacious, that by his sin you are a sinner. You were born a sinner. You can do right things. C'mon, sometimes, when you were a sinner, remember when you were a sinner, you did some right things, right? But you're still a sinner. The right thing you do cannot change your status. Now, if you're truly born again, the last Adam, because of the last Adam, hallelujah to his glorious name. By the last Adam's obedience we are made righteous.
Now you say when we sin we become unrighteous. That is stupid. That is putting Jesus lower than the first Adam. "Well, Pastor Prince, can someone renounce Jesus Christ"? Let me ask you a question. When you were a sinner can you renounce your sinnerhood? Can you say, "I renounce Satan and I renounce my position of a sinner. I use my free will to renounce Satan and to renounce my position as a sinner". Does that make you a non-sinner now? No, some things free choice cannot change. You've gotta be born again. So, likewise, a Christian under pressure renounced Jesus and all that. God knows the heart. You don't, mm?
Sorry, men, you receive Jesus you are forever saved, okay? Jesus himself says, all right, "I hold them in my hands and they shall never perish. My Father who is greater than all holds them in his hands and no one", no one. The word "men" there is italics, okay, and it's added to the holy Scriptures. "No one", demon or deacon. "No one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hands". I believe my Lord Jesus. I believe when God says, you know, whoever believes in him shall have eternal life, I think eternal means eternal. Eternal doesn't mean until your next sin. Or until the sin that you prescribe, "Oh, no, not all sin but certain sin then, you know, you lose your salvation". That means even the guy who's a sinner, there's a certain right thing that he does that'll make him righteous. What is that? No, the only way is to be born out of that condition. Are you with me, church? Are you all learning?
So let's see our Lord Jesus. So these Sadducees came and they don't believe in resurrection, right? So they said, "A man had a wife and they had no children and then this man died and the custom of the day is that the next brother must marry this wife". In those days when their older brother gets married, they watch real close because they are next, you know? If the brother dies, then they have to take over to raise seed for the family, the father, for the family name. "So the next brother married her to raise seed, no children also. He also died, all right? Third one also married, also died. The fourth one married, also died".
I told you, you know, people's arguments are always very farfetched one, all right? So they thought they had Jesus also in this and they said that "finally, all seven died. Everyone died". Of course, we know this story never happened but they are trying to catch Jesus, you see? Jesus believed in the resurrection. So they said, "Lord, in the resurrection", the Sadducees who don't believe in resurrection. They said, "In the resurrection, when they're all in the resurrection, whose wife will she be"?
Let's follow the story now. "'Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.' Jesus answered and said to them, 'You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God'". Notice, "not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God". They go together. "'For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven'". You cannot understand that now. All right, don't worry about it. You have the body for it so now you can't imagine it because your body's different.
Next verse: "'But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.'" Now he's talking about resurrection, all right? He's disputing the fact that there is no resurrection according to the Sadducees. He's saying, "'Have you not read God saying, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.' And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching".
I'll tell you why. In the Hebrew this is how it sounds:... Now, you don't get it but here we have one word. Jesus actually quoted one word that destroys this theory of no resurrection. One word. You know what was the word? Is a verb. Is a verb in the present tense: "I am the God of Abraham". I am. I'm still the God of Abraham. I'm still the God of Isaac. I'm still the God of Jacob. They are not dead. It is not "I was the God of Abraham". I am. That means they are still alive somewhere. And that's why no one dare, multitudes were astonished at his teaching. Literally, I am. Not I was the God of Abraham. You understand? An argument, listen, argument from one single verb.
And he is quoting from Exodus 3 in case you wanna find out. You know when God said this? At the burning bush, to Moses. God says, "Moses, take off your shoes. The place you're standing is holy ground". Then God says, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac". By then, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob has been dead - when Moses stood before the burning bush, they have been dead for 400 years already and yet God says, "I am the God of Abraham". One single verb in the present tense. Now, listen. The Sadducees never said, "Wah, you are using one verb, one word". They all knew the inspiration of the Scriptures.
Whatever they discussed, all right, they never, never disagreed with the holy Scriptures. They all knew the inspiration of the holy Scriptures. It's not idea. It's not idea alone, it is word for word. They never dispute that "Jesus, you're using the 'I am' or 'was,' don't you know that in those days they can say things, poetic license, you know? High flown expressions". No such thing in Scripture. Every word is inspired, okay?
I wanna bring this to a close. In the same chapter, 22, I like this, 22, then came the Pharisees. The Pharisees is, "Ha, ha, ha, the Sadducees, no wonder they are sad to see. Our turn now". You know, they came to Jesus. Jesus look at them and they ask Jesus a question which is not pertaining to our study now and Jesus put them in their place and then Jesus asked them a question in return. Let's follow that question. "While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, 'What do you think about the Messiah, the Christ"? Jesus the Messiah, right? Jesus said, "'What do you think about the Messiah? Whose Son is He?' they said to Him, 'The Son of David'".
Now you must know one thing. In their thinking, David is greater than the Messiah, the Pharisees. That's the problem. You see, today, we have the same problem. Some people look at it, "This man of God said this, therefore I don't believe this teaching, because my man of God doesn't say that. My man of God". Stop building around men and start building around Jesus Christ. You've got to make Jesus bigger. You know, Hebrews, the book Hebrews, it talks about angels but Christ is greater than them. It talks about Moses. Christ is greater than Moses because Moses was a servant, Christ was a Son. The law came by Moses but grace and truth came by the Son.
All right, it compares. Jesus, priesthood; Melchizedek and the Levitical priesthood. Man, I'm telling you, Jesus is greater. So when you're studying the Word of God, look for Jesus until his consciousness becomes great. So for them, the Pharisees, Jesus, the son of David, if you're the son of David who is greater? The father or the son? Right, the father, isn't it? But Jesus said to them, "'How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord'"? Now he is quoting Psalms 110. If you turn to Psalm 110 you'll find this whole quotation. How come David calls, "'David, in the Spirit, call the Messiah 'Lord,' saying: 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, 'til I make Your enemies Your footstool'"?
Now watch this. Your New Testament's in Greek, your Old Testament is in Hebrew, okay? Your New Testament doesn't really give you the revelation. It says the Lord is the Lord. "Kurios said to my Kurios". Both is the Lord. There's no distinction. But in the Hebrew Old Testament, in Psalms, listen. Psalms 110, verse 1: "Yahweh, the Lord, said to my adoni". So we have two persons here, two divine persons: the Father and the Son. David calls the Son, Adoni, my Lord. So how can David be greater than the Messiah when David called the Messiah "Adoni"? The next verse: "'If David then calls Him "Lord", how is He his Son?' And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore", okay?
So argument from Yahweh, one word, it's a name, Adoni, another word. None of the Pharisees said, "You're arguing from names. Sometimes God feel like using Adonai. Sometimes God feel like using Shaddai". No, no, no, there's a reason why certain names appear. The Bible is not haphazard. Okay, because of time, let me just tell you something about the Scriptures. Real good, okay? Now you are ready for this. All right, in closing. Proverbs 4, Proverbs 4 says, "My son, give attention to my words. Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those that find them, and", what? Health to what? All their flesh.
Now, look at all. Don't bypass that one word. God's Word is health to all your flesh. Can you give me a medicine that is health to all your flesh? And I can show you medicines that will cure your runnies, your runnies, cure your diarrhea. Behold, I speak plainly. And then the warning says, "Might make you blind". Then you have a case where, all right, it will stop your headache, but might give you an ulcer in your stomach. It's too acidic. Stop pain, but in future you just made another pain.
So, every medicine, all right, comes with a very thinly-folded, but you open up, it's like a scroll. And no one bothers to read it anymore because the terminology, what in the world is that? If you are sensitive to this, don't take this medicine. What in the world, am I sensitive? I don't even know what I'm sensitive. But I'll tell you something, there's one medicine has no side effects. It is medicine to all your flesh, all your flesh, all your flesh. It's amazing.
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, a very well-known author, a pastor of the Marble Collegiate Church in New York, he shares in his book "The Power of Positive Thinking" and I read this many years ago. He shared about he was invited to be a speaker at a business conference. He went to the conference and he didn't know why he was there. You know, he said, "The people are there to discuss about taxation, the rising cost of doing business and all that", and he was invited.
So anyway, he was sitting down with one of the leaders of the conference. And the leader looked at him and said, "You're a pastor"? He says, "Yes". "Do you believe in faith healing"? That's how he put it. He says, "Well, I believe God heals". And the man says, "Can I share with you something that happened to me"? And Dr. Norman says, "Of course". And this man shared many years ago, he says he was diagnosed with tumor of the jaw. The doctors told him it's incurable, that his days were numbered. He went back home, he was very discouraged. He says that he does go to church, but he's a very, you know, like just go to church out of respect, you know, for his wife or, you know, his colleagues or whatever. He says, "I scarcely ever read the Bible".
So, after receiving this news, he went back, he was discouraged, despondent, lying on his bed. Obviously, he had an urge to read the Bible. He asked his wife for the Bible. The wife brought the Bible, he started reading the Bible. After that, next day he started reading the Bible again. Next day, he started reading again. He says he went into extended periods of reading. Imagine reading about how Elijah prepared the 12 stones, and Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, and they danced on their altar, cut themselves and all that.
Yesterday, I was reading this and I was thinking to myself, you know the prophets of Baal, don't forget, is you must cut yourself, you must cut yourself, you must hurt yourself for their god to answer. Elijah just really cool, no cutting of Elijah. He just prepared 12 stones and the Bible says the 12 stones are according to the number of the tribes of Israel. Even the typology is given to us there, it's according to the number of the tribes of Israel. He stepped back, called for fire, fire came. Even the stones disappeared. I read that and all of a sudden, my faith is boosted in this God who is Lord, amen?
So, I do not know whether he read that. I'm just telling you when you read the Bible, you get lost. And you can read this in the toilet. The chapter is just nice for your, hey, listen, garbage out, life in. What a deal. Now, some of you, I know some of you get really just, "Pastor Prince, it's terrible. You should not bring a Bible in the toilet". Hey, you don't even read. You fight for it, you don't even read. You fight for what? Don't be afraid to get a Bible that you can mark on, all right?
Some people think the Bible is like, you know, the devil give them this false religiosity that they almost like worship the Bible to the point that they don't even open the Word. Use a Bible you can use until it falls apart. A Bible falling apart belongs to someone who is not. Use the Bible. And the best, underline. Don't copy your neighbor's underline. What speaks to him doesn't speak to you. You underline what you like. You read, you underline. Some people want very beautiful like rainbow, yellow here, blue here, green here. It's beautiful to look at their Bible and look at what spoke to them, but have your own Bible. Have a big marginal rendering also at home where you can write your own notes. It becomes your own Bible, your own meditation.
Many of the sermons I preach comes from my white margin Bible that I write at the side. And many of them, the revelation God gives me I don't know even preach today. Have not even preached yet. God has not led me too, but many of them has come out from that Bible. But the Bible I used for preaching is this Bible. You see, I got many Bibles, all kinds of Bibles. I love Bibles. Put them all over the place. When you're watching your drama, when you're watching TV or news or whatever, put it near your coffee table. Break time, take it out, just read.
"Pastor Prince, I can't. Reading is not proper reading". At least you read something, what's your problem? You'll be surprised, sometimes you open. I know we don't encourage you to always just, you know, my life of reading is just open, open, open, open, okay? There are a lot of exciting things, you can sit down and read through the whole story. It's very interesting, you look at the culture of that time, beautiful. Look at the love between a man and a woman, the love of father and a son, the drama, the violence. It's all there, the Bible doesn't mince words.
You know, it talks about a guy who stabbed an evil king, all right, and the king was so fat that his blade, he left his sword inside the guy's tummy. And the Bible says dirt came out. And then you stop for a while, you say the story to entertain you. And yet at the same time the truth, the Word of God, you just let it do its work and the flesh will come flowing out. Kill and destroy. So this guy, he started reading the Bible. This guy, I'm on the story, this guy who had a tumor on his jaw. He had just read the Bible, okay? I'm bringing this to a close. So listen, this is the very important part. All right, he read, just read. And Dr. Norman says, he told Dr. Norman, "It became extended periods of reading".
One day, he read it, he said he felt great sense of warmth. He had an Emmaus road experience. Dr. Norman didn't say that, but I'm saying that. He felt a strange warmth inside him and a sense of happiness. Sometimes, you just read the Bible, you can read something that almost like quite negative, the story, but you feel wonderful. It's just cleansing effect. He felt great. He went back to the doctor that first diagnosed him and they cannot find the tumor. So, they told him this, they said, "Hey, don't get your hopes up, it will come back. It'll come back". He says, "That word never bothered me. You know why? I know I was healed". He told Dr. Norman, and Dr. Norman asked him, "How many years has it been"? He says, "Fourteen years. Never came back". There's a power of the Word of God. Are you listening?
A lady was diagnosed with mental problems, all right? She can't even concentrate, can't even think. Whatever mental problem it is, so I forgot, the parent or someone got them Scripture on CD. Back then, it was Scripture on tape, all right, during that time of this testimony. And put the Walkman on her, back then it was Walkman, all right? On her, and told her to listen to it day and night. She was at the brink of losing her mind. Cannot concentrate, all right? All kinds of, you know, mental problems, mental challenges. I kept on hearing the Word. And the Word just played, it's pure Word. I do not know how long, I forgot. After a season of time, all right, that woman, everything about her, her mind, okay, all the problems left. Her mind became really sound.
Now, you're looking at a guy who had this kind of problem. All right? I know it's hard to believe now. My concentration's so sharp, you know? What did I just say? Yeah, my concentration was so sharp and all that. But the thing is this, I was one of those who's like quite scatterbrained, you know? I get very distracted. And I had a lot of mental challenges and you can read about it in the book "Destined to Reign". But I kept on hearing the Word. Back then, it was cassette, all right, Bible on cassette, I kept on hearing it, hearing it. I would sleep sometimes. If I'm sick especially, even now I'll play the Bible throughout the night.
"Pastor Prince, you're not listening to it". My spirit is. And my spirit never sleeps, amen. They are life and health to all. To your nose, to your eyes, to your kidneys, to your liver, to your prostate, to your intestines. Every part, all your flesh, it benefits all your flesh. Jonathan Edwards, and with this I'm going to close, Jonathan Edwards known as America's most important theologian, amazing man of God. Jonathan Edward says these words. "How it comes about, I know not. But I have noticed that at those times when I've read the Scriptures most, I have been most lively and in the best frame". Frame in those days means body. I've been in the best frame. When I've read the Scriptures the most, "I do not know how it happens", he says. Neither do I.
So church, it's not enough just to say, you know, but can you just put these Scriptures, some Bible everywhere? Okay, put up John 15:3 real quick, last verse. "You are already clean". All of you here today, you are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you. Now, listen, listen, Jesus in John 13 wash his disciples' feet, and then Peter says, you know, Peter trying to stop Jesus and Jesus says, "If I don't wash you, you have no part with me". Then Peter says, "Lord, Lord, Lord, not only my feet, my hands and my head". That means what I do is dirty, also what I think is always filthy. So, can you wash my hands and my feet? Then Jesus said these words, all right? John 13, Jesus says, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean".
So, once you're bathed, bathe here is the new birth. Once you are saved, you are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, that's the one and forever bath. From then on, you only need to wash your feet. Two different Greek words. Bathe here is luo, wash is nipto. You only had to wash your feet, your walk. Because once you're bathed, you are completely clean, all right? "And you are clean, but not all of you". This one is referring to Judas, "For he knew who would betray him, therefore he said, 'You are not all clean'". So, go back to the teaching again. Once you're bathed, you only have to wash your feet. John 15:3 says what? John 15:3, "You're already clean because of the Word". Just by hearing the Word, it cleanses you. Are you listening?
Just hearing the Word cleanses you. So, you don't have to understand. The more you read, the more you understand. It's like prayer. The best way to learn prayer is not from books. The best way to learn prayer is to pray. The more you pray, the more you learn to pray. The best way to learn the Scriptures is just start reading. Start reading. There is one book I can recommend you to read to start off, not the Gospel of John. That's been highly recommended. But if you have never read the Bible, Gospel of John I recommend highly. But for Christians who want to build their faith, there's one book designed to build your faith, all right?
Moses wrote this book for the next generation. The previous generation, because of their unbelief, they perished in the wilderness. The next generation was coming up, it was for their sakes and for all of us that Moses wrote the book that was designed to create faith in this next generation. That was the time Moses wrote that book. Know what book is it designed to build faith? Genesis. The story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, all the stories there are designed to build faith in you because Moses wrote it for the next generation of Israelites that would go into the land. And he didn't want them to repeat the mistake of their predecessors, okay? Church, will you start cracking this book? Find a good Bible, please find one big enough, all right? Not the type that you, you know?
"Pastor Prince, you know, I don't like to bring Bible to church and all that". I think it's good, you know, sometimes you bring a Bible, there are people who get convicted by seeing other people carrying a Bible. So, if your journey is five miles journey just on the way they're carrying, you never know who is convicted. They had a five-mile preaching going on that was nonverbal, you know, just by carrying the Bible. Put the Bible on your table in the office. Let the world know this is my success book. It was designed for your success. God didn't write this book for his. He's very successful already, thank you. All right, he wrote this for your success. And all the people said amen.
I wish I have more time, but time is up, praise the Lord. Every head bowed, every eye closed all across this place. Friend, my dearest friend, listen to this one verse, and I'll call your attention to one word in this verse. It says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". The one word is that little word "so". Every word is inspired. That little word "so" describes intensity. God didn't just love us, God so loved us that he gave.
My friend, you are so loved by God. You are so loved by God that he gave us the best that heaven can give, his only Son. None else could die in our place. None else could carry our sins. And on that cross, Jesus hung there on that tree. He bled, shed his blood. And the Bible says we are redeemed by that blood from the curse of the law. We have forgiveness of sins in that precious blood. My friend, if you want that, then pray this prayer with me right now. If you want to be saved, you want your sins forgiven, say this from your heart.
Heavenly Father, heavenly Father, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died in my place for my sins. His precious blood cleanses me from every sin. You raised him from the dead. And I thank you that through his blood, all my sins are completely forgiven, put away. I'm greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved because I'm now in the beloved, Christ himself. Jesus Christ is my Lord, in Jesus's name, amen.
Thou, O Lord, are a shield for me. Imagine reading that sitting on your white throne. Thou, O Lord, are the shield for me, my glory and the lifter of my head. Regardless of what the news says, regardless of what your boss may say, regardless of the fact that you have not met the deadline, whatever it is, say, "Lord, you are the lifter of my head. You are my helper. You are my strength".
Use the words of David. You don't know how to praise? There's no better words than the words of David. Lift your hands all across this place. This coming week, and these are the words of Scripture as well. God says to Moses to tell Aaron the high priest, "Bless the people with these words, and I'll put my name on them, and I will bless them". The Lord bless you and the Lord keep you. The Lord bless you with the blessings of Abraham, the blessings of Deuteronomy 28.
Blessed coming in, blessed going out, blessed in everything that you set your hand onto. You shall lend and you shall not borrow. The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. Your enemies rise against you one way, flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing upon your storehouses. The Lord keep you, preserve you and your families throughout this week from dangers, from accidents, from sickness, from disease, from evil people, from all the powers of darkness and from the power of the evil one. The Lord himself establish you and keep you from evil. The Lord make his face shine on you and on your loved ones, and be favorable to you, be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and yours, and grant to you his wonderful shalom wholeness and peace in the name of Yeshua Hamashiach, amen and amen. God bless you, see you again. Get into the Word.