Joseph Prince - Win The Battle Over Sin-Consciousness

Hello, church. Shalom to all of you in the year of time and space. I wanna share with you about the year of time and space once again more like in retrospect we are now like more than halfway through the year and early in this year the Lord gave me the theme for our church: the year of time and space. It's also for those that are following this ministry. And I believe that God has an emphasis that he will emphasize on in a particular year. And the previous year, it was the year of the latter rain and how we saw the harvest come in, to prepare us for this year, amen. The year of time and space, we have seen this year already how we, as a people, have transcended time and space.

We've gone online, we can be in an instant in a conference room in New York or in Paris or, you know, in China, in Shanghai, somewhere, you know? But it is amazing that no one would have dreamed that the whole world would be transcending time and space and, yet, in a way confined, yet in a way, time seems to be held in abeyance as we all wait, you know, with bated breath for some people who do not know what's happening, to see what will transpire. Will this go on for another year? Will this be a protracted time of three years, four years? No one knows but the Lord. So it's important for us to move with the Lord, in sync with the Lord, just like the analogy Jesus used, "Take my yoke upon you. My yoke is easy".

Now, the people of Israel were under the heavy and hard yoke of the law. Jesus is saying, "Take my yoke": grace, amen? And of the yoke is an older ox that is yoked to a younger ox, and the younger ox will learn from the older ox, okay? He will mature as he works with the older ox. When the older ox move to the right, the younger ox will have to follow or else he will have a neck ache. It's important to flow with the Lord during this time. What is the Lord doing? The Lord says, "Sit still. I don't want you to do anything. Just rest, take this time". And guess what happened to us during the lockdown? We were all confined in our homes, amen. We were all with our families.

When the Lord allow things like this, sometimes the Lord will have to force us, almost compel us, to rest. You know, we are such creatures of activity, we do not know how to rest. And when you think about it, the months that we were confined at home, were actually moments of what the people of Israel experience on a regular basis every Shabbat. They would spend time with their family, they will not go out, amen. They will stay at home and they will spend time with their families. Now, I know in some cases, you know, you have people who see the worst of each other and marriages sometimes is challenged during this time and all that. But for the most part, it's still a time of being together, a time that the Lord wants us to really focus on our loved ones and our families.

You know, there is an event in the Bible that talks about a time like this when the children of Israel were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. And the Bible gives the reason. The Bible says: "So that the land may rest". Because every seventh year, the land is supposed to lie fallow, supposed to rest, okay? This is for further productivity. But the people of Israel just because of the love of money and because of, you know, and disobeying God, you know, in this area, they will harvest the land and they will keep on, you know, working the land just like the dustbowl that happened in America many years ago where, you know, there was, like, a rolling dust, and farmland became, you know, they were not able to sow, they were not able to harvest. It was terrible time and people will all, like, they have to move away from their farms and all that. Why? Because they didn't allow the land to rest.

So for every seventh year that Israel did not allow the land to rest, God says, all right, that "I'm gonna allow the land to rest and for every seventh year, it'll be your 70 years in captivity in Babylon". And that's why you have the 70 years of captivity. And the Lord says, "The land will rest," amen, "to fulfill her Sabbaths". Why is God so concerned about the land? Don't forget, friend, our bodies, all right, our soul and spirit comes from God. God breathed into Adam, the first man, and man became a living soul. But his body, all right, prior to that, before God breathed into him, he was like a mannequin. He was like, you know, lifeless. God made him from the dust of the ground.

So your bodies is made from the dust of the ground because you are a spirit. You are not a body, but you live in a body, amen. That part of you that's a spirit and soul comes from God, the breath of God. So, our bodies, being that our bodies come from the dust of the ground, and God wants the dust to rest. And God is saying to us, "You need to rest. You need to learn to rest". And not just rest physically, but rest mentally. Rest in every part of your life. In fact, the Christian life begins, salvation happens when we learn to rest in what Christ has done. You cannot be saved as long as you're trying to save yourself. You cannot be saved by doing good works. You must learn to rest and then you can be saved, amen?

You cannot save a drowning man as long as he still has strength and energy, amen? So we gotta learn and I believe that God is saying, and not just to us here in Singapore, but to all the world, amen, "Rest". And there must be a purpose for that. We are compelled to rest. And just imagine what Noah experienced for all those months that he was in the ark, amen. He got to adjust to his family and, you know, think about it, during that time, you know? No Netflix, no nothing, all right? They just have to get to know each other better, amen.

Study the animals, amen. And most of the animals were hibernating anyway, you know, but during that time, it's almost as if he feels confined in time and space. But then, God was preparing a new world, a brand new world. And Noah and his family were the immediate beneficiaries. So God has a plan for you during this time. I don't really believe that this COVID-19 is the final, you know, disease and I mentioned in prophecy in 2005 that in the end times, the challenge will not be terrorism. The biggest challenge will not be terrorism; it will be disease. Maybe we can take a look at it right now.

The world will see new strains of disease and that's why God has prepared each one of us under the shelter of the Most High. The greatest problem in the days ahead will not be terrorism; it will be disease. And that's why every time the Word comes forth, God is saying, "I'm giving you double portion power for these last days. I'm giving you the Communion to battle against the forces of darkness and spirits of infirmities. I am giving you these weapons today".

We gotta learn to flow with what God is doing at this time. God says, "Rest," like the older ox wants to rest, the younger ox better not move or else he will strain his neck again, amen? He will have sore neck. And if the older ox wants to drink, the younger ox better learn to follow, okay, or else he will, again, all right, when the older ox bends down and he is upright, it will hurt him, amen. So when the Lord leads you to drink from his Word, there are moments, you know, you might be watching television or you may be doing something and the Lord just tells you to, you know, there's a hunger for God's Word, go, amen? That's a time when you open the Bible, it's like pure, refreshing streams that will quench your thirst.

And you might tell yourself, "Well, you know what? I wanna watch this show and", you know, you can always pause, right? But you say, "Okay, I wanna watch this show," and when you go back after you finish the show, it's not the same anymore. Doesn't speak to you anymore. So those are moments. I'm just giving illustration, a specific illustration, that has happened to me. And many a time when God tells you to pick up the Bible or just look at the Word in your smartphone or whatever, just look at the Word. Look at the Word, amen? God has something for you. When God wants to drink, and the older ox wants to drink, we better learn to flow with him, amen? Amen, when he rests, we rest. When he moves, we move, amen. Amen, when something moves quickly, we have to move quickly with him. Praise the Lord.

But don't forget, Jesus said, "My yoke is easy," amen? "And my burden is light," amen. The children of Israel, they were under a heavy yoke of the law, but Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls," amen. So as we look at the year of time and space, once again, we look at the Temple of Solomon. This is what the Lord gave me towards the end of last year. Always towards the end of the latter part of the year, I'll prepare for the coming year, and towards the end of 2019 I was seeking the Lord for the team for 2020 and the Lord gave me "The Year of Time and Space", and illustrated from the Temple of Solomon.

So this is the Temple of Solomon and you can see the three chambers that is adjoined to the main building on the side, all right? You can see the three levels. And there's a entrance door and let's go into the door and go to the first chamber. In the first chamber, we have the storage for grain, wine, and oil. Grain, wine, and oil. And I've preached on this down through the years, and the Lord is saying that "The people will need the grain, the wine, and the oil". And he also said that the three chambers were a reflection of the year 2020, the first chamber, the first part of the year; the middle chamber will be the middle part of the year. I think we are still in it. And then towards the end of the year, all right, the third chamber.

Okay, let's go through them. This is the first chamber, the lowest floor, and there's the grain, wine, and oil, and how these will apply to us when COVID-19 hits in the beginning, amen. We have seen so many healings, amen. Not just from COVID-19 but also from people that shared about how the Lord healed their bodies and how the Lord manifests his healing. And some of them even go to the hospital only to find they spend a few days and a doctor says, "Clean bill of health". Or they felt that they had the condition and later on proven that the tests showed negative. And the main testimony that comes from them is always, "I've been taking the Holy Communion. I've been taking the Holy Communion".

So we take the Holy Communion not just for healing, but also for life every day, amen? Prevention as you would say, amen. It's better to be healthy than to be sick and then sick for healing. But of course, if you are sick, the Lord wants to heal you, amen. And the Lord wants to give you healing, praise God. But listen, friend, that part of the year, the year of emphasis on grain, wine, and oil, and I just released my book last year on the Communion where I go in depth on the Communion. Little did I ever have a dream how this book would play a part in so many lives, amen, of people seeking for answers and protection during this time. And it's all in the grain, the wine, and the oil.

So that's the first part of the year. And now, we are in the latter part of the second floor, which is rest. And this is the chamber where the priests that would work in the Temple of Solomon, this is the place where they would rest, amen? And I mentioned earlier in the year, not knowing what's gonna happen in the year, I said that this middle chamber is a chamber of rest and here's where, and I was thinking to myself, "Why would God wanna emphasize rest"? You know, rest is almost like doing nothing, right? It's almost like take time out from your work, amen, have a Sabbath, rest, you know, just fellowship with your friends, and it's almost like, if you look at the chamber and all this was done early in the year, even all these pictures and all that.

And you look at it, it reminds you of the lockdown, amen? Amen, amen, the confined period that we had in Singapore, we call it "circuit breaker," amen. And we can see that how it's a very communal as well as a family time of rest, loving each other, building our relationship with one another. All the students, all our daughters and sons, that are far away, come home to be with their family, amen. And together we function as a family, blessed of the Lord, amen. And sometimes, you know, in a way, when I look back at during the circuit breaker or during the time when we were all going through the period where we were confined at home, you know, I really cherish those moments I had with my family. I really do, you know? I got to know them better.

You know, we are always in sabbatical rest. In fact, the Christian life is a life of constant rest, amen? We operate out of rest, amen? But I believe we are coming into a time that the Lord knows the third chamber is about to be opened unto his people, amen? And all these provisions are for God's people. I'm not talking about the people of the world. The Temple of Solomon is not for the people of the world, amen? It's for people who believe in God, people who believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These provisions are there for people who are believers, not unbelievers, amen? So this storehouse, even rest is a provision of God.

So we saw the first floor, grain, wine, and oil are all the provisions of his hand of grace, his last reminder to the church: "This do in remembrance of me," amen? In the synoptic gospels we have Jesus talking about the Communion in the Upper Room and then John did not mention it specifically, but what John did not mention, Paul, amen, who was saved later compared to all these 12 apostles, except for Judas, of course. You find that Paul, in his 1 Corinthians letter, he talks аbout: "I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the same night and the Lord was betrayed, he took bread and wine".

Now, listen carefully. Paul did not receive his revelation of Communion from the disciples of Jesus. "I received of the Lord". He received a direct revelation from the Lord. So I believe there's something very important if the Lord would reveal it directly to Paul; it must mean something. It was Paul who says, you know, "Do this as often," all right? "As often as you do it". And how often must we do it? And until when? "And you do show the Lord's death until he comes". So we're doing the Lord's Supper, amen, partaking of the grain, the wine, anointing ourself with the oil, until the Lord comes, amen? And I believe his Coming is soon. And I believe it's very near, even at the doors, amen, hallelujah. So from there we go to the place of rest and then from rest we do everything out of rest.

Now we go to the third chamber, the uppermost room. And here is where they store the gold, the treasure, and the tithes. This is the room where, the Bible says, in the Temple of Solomon when Solomon received this blueprint from God, or rather, his father received the blueprint, he built it, his father David received it, and the blueprint was that in the third chamber, it's all overlaid with gold and all the gold and the silver is kept there. Now, the primary-type meaning of gold in the Bible, just like silver means redemption, gold is righteousness, divine righteousness, okay? We are all righteous by the blood of Jesus. In God's eyes we are all righteous, not by the works we have done, but by the blood of Jesus, amen?

And gold, primary, is referring to righteousness, the righteousness of God, divinity. But it also, let's not take away from the fact that gold and silver today speaks of provision, amen? Material provisions. And it's as if God knows that towards the end of the year, many people, many of his people, will be challenged financially and many will see job retrenchments and not just, I'm not talking about our local church. I'm talking about all over the world. I'm speaking to the Church at large, amen. And it's as if God knows but God is saying, "I have provided for you long before there's this need in your life". Just like, you know, when Abraham brought his son Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him, right? On the other side of the mountain, God was already providing the substitute for Isaac, amen?

But I don't believe that ram just suddenly appeared. I believe that as Abraham and his son were taking the steps up Mount Moriah, that the ram was taking its steps up on the other side, amen? So God's provision, God always foresee, and that's what it means, Yahweh Yireh. We say, "The Lord provides," but the word "yireh" is actually "the Lord sees," amen? If you say, "Pastor Prince, I have this need and all that," and I say, "I'll see to it". That means, "I'll provide for you," amen? Okay, I'll see to it. The Lord will see to it, he'll provide for you. So God foresaw what's gonna happen in the latter part of this year, amen, and he's gonna open to you, child of God, amen, the uppermost chamber, amen, his provisions, amen, the gold and the silver is indicative of that. Praise the Lord, amen. Thank you, Jesus.

So the year of time and space where we are not confined by time, we're not confined by space. You know, when the Lord gave this to me, I was thinking to myself, "Lord, can you give me something less scientific? The year before you gave me 'The Year of the Latter Rain.' That sounds so good. Why not give me something like, you know, that kind of theme". But the Lord gave me "The Year of Time and Space". I said, "It sounds a bit scientific, Lord". And the Lord says, "Well, that's the year". And who would have thought it is the year of time and space. It's almost as if space is no more, right? Praise the Lord. So let's flow with God, with what God is saying to us.

Now, I wanna share with you, continue from last week. We talk about the ministry of condemnation and the ministry of death. I wanna continue that because there's so much in my heart and there's still so much in my heart, amen. You can tell, right? Amen, and I just wanna make sure that you receive this and whatever is left, you know, and the Lord always have 12 basketful left over, amen? We'll just continue in the weeks to come, amen? So continue tuning in and receive that rhema food, that rhema word that God has for you. The Bible says through Prophet Amos in the end times there'll be a famine. "Not a famine of water, not a famine of food, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord".

So the Word of the Lord will become rare and precious in the end times, amen. But, friend, you are hearing the Word of the Lord. You are truly blessed, compared to a lot of people. It's not a famine of God's Word is not available. It's not a famine of the Word of God. It's a famine of hearing the words of the Lord, amen? So it's a famine of hearing the words of the Lord, not a famine of the Word of the Lord itself. The Word of the Lord is abundant, amen, everywhere. So I'm glad for those of you who are tuning in. And then keep on tuning in, praise the Lord. You need the Word of God, amen. Of all the things, you know, that you would think about, you know, or what shall I cook for my family tonight, and what shall I do for my family tomorrow? What kind of food shall I order online, you know?

All that is important and has its place, but not as important as the word that you receive on a daily basis. "Give us this day our daily bread," amen? So keep on tuning in. And I want you to expect something. The Lord said this to me, to tell you this, that as the Word goes forth, don't wait until I pray for you, amen? I will pray, amen, like I always do and I will give words that the Lord will give to me but don't wait for moments like that, you know? Just expect as the Word goes forth, you know, we know when you sit in front of your screen or however you're receiving the Word, be expecting. Be alert. Make yourself undistracted. Don't allow anyone to rob you of the time. Not a cousin, not anyone else, you know, anybody, okay? Just say that: "This is my time. I will attend to that later. But this is my time with the Lord," amen? And focus with a hearing heart.

You know, the Bible says, "And all these blessings will come on you," in Deuteronomy 28, "if you will hearken, hearkening". That's how it is in the Hebrew. It's like, "listen to my word," and the word "hearing" is twice. And God says, "And all these blessings will come on you and overtake you if you hearken to the", so we have in our English, "hearken diligently," but in the original, in the Hebrew, it is literally doubling the word, "hearken, hearken".

Listen with your outward ears and listen with your inward ears, amen, and do not allow distraction to come in, amen, and you'll receive the full benefit. And as the Word goes forth, the Lord wants me to tell you this. Expect to be healed. Expect the Word that's sozo. Expect God has ordained that by the foolishness of preaching, the simplicity of preaching to save, to sozo, to heal. And the word sozo is also to heal, amen, to make right the areas in your life that is out of sync, that is to bring a wholeness in your mind, in every area of your life. If depression is trying to creep into your mind, into your emotions, and the Word of God will save you from that. Amen. He will save your mind. He will save your relationship. He will save.

So not only are we saved when we receive Jesus and we believe on Jesus as our Savior and Lord, but we are saved on a daily basis. The Bible talks about receive the engrafted Word. In James chapter 1 he says to receive the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. And that is written to believers. God says to receive the engrafted Word. Like you were engraved into a tree, all right, receive the Word, and the engrafted Word, which is able to sozo your souls. Amen. That's our emotions.

And a lot of people today need saving in their souls. They're depressed. They are having panic attacks, anxieties, worries, and chaos. God's Word is able to save your souls. Amen. And that's my concern, because all these manifestations of depression, and panic attacks, and anxieties, and worries, and having sleepless nights, and tossing and turning because your mind is constantly busy with thoughts that are afflicting you with worry and care, okay?

So God will want to save you in that area. But do you know that all these manifestations are actually manifestations of death? We have to relook the word death and realize that death is a death, in fact, we think of death as when our hearts stopped beating, but actually death is a physical death. Even then, that's not final. The Bible talks about a second death in the lake of fire and brimstone, okay? That's in hell. The Bible talks the second death. Now, those who were born once, all right, will die twice. For us who are born twice, born in the natural from our mother's womb, and then born again, we may only die once. Amen. Praise the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Amen.

So we need to see death it's not just your heart stop beating, but that is the ultimate in this life, okay? But, of course, there's a second death the Bible talks about, but before that, anything that leads to death, disease, sickness, amen, constant fatigue, depression, amen, strife, when relationships are full of strife, are all manifestations of death. That means death has come into that situation. And why is that so? The Bible says things like, "For if you live after the flesh, you shall die, but if you live after the Spirit, you shall live".

Now, that's written to believers. Amen. So what does that mean? Does that mean that death when your heart stops beating? Well, we want to discuss all this, but there is a provision in the Old Testament that is outside the Book of Leviticus. You know the Book of Leviticus talks about five provisions, amen, five offerings. You have the burn offering, you have the meal offering, you have the peace offering, you have the sin offering, and the trespasses offering, and all depict that one work of Jesus, that perfect work of Jesus. Amen. It takes five offerings to describe it, but there's one offering that's outside that. It's found in the Book of Numbers. And that offering is the offering of the red heifer.

And the red heifer is very interesting. It's not offered, all right, for sin. It is offered for periods when someone touches death. Like for example, he touch a dead corpse, he touches a dead bone, he needs to be sprinkled with the ashes, all right, in running water. And the priest will take the ashes in water - the ashes from the red heifer is a picture of Jesus at the cross. Amen. And heifer is a female cow. And whenever something is female in the Old Testament is a type of subjective experience. Amen. What you call practical experience. A male is usually the objective, amen, the positional, whereas female is always something applied.

So the red heifer is how you apply the work of Jesus into your life. Amen. And the Bible says the heifer is burned until it becomes ashes, all right, and you take the ashes, and you put it into running water, and you put other things in it, like you put hyssop, you a put wood so that wood, and then the Bible says that this represents like the Solomon's wisdom. He speaks of the cedars of Lebanon, the great, as well as the small plant like the hyssop that springs out of the wall. That's a wide range of his wisdom. So it shows the world as such, the natural world. And everything in it is all atoning the work of Jesus. It's put into the vessel of water with the ashes, and then when someone touches a dead bone or a dead corpse, he's now defiled. And the priest will take the water that has all these ingredients of the cedar, and all that, and the hyssop, and the ashes of the red heifer, and he will take the water and sprinkle it on the person who is defiled.

Now, he's free from the defilement, okay? It's very beautiful picture. But why is it put in the Book of Numbers? Why is it found there? Because the Book of Numbers speaks of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness, just like we are in this world. Amen. The Leviticus offering speaks of the one work of Jesus, but in this, so to speak, when we are in this world, it's like a wilderness. Amen. We need the work of Jesus, what he did at the cross, to be applied in our lives. Amen. Amen. We need the work of Jesus to be applied in our lives. And that's how we do.

I remember years ago I was with Pastor Mark and a few other pastors on holiday in Kuala Lumpur. I remember that we had a, I think it was after a church camp, or something like that. And we went to a bookstore there, and I picked up a book, a very well-known. It's a huge bestseller at that time. And I just picked it up, and wanting to know about the secret of this book, and I just scanned through like this, and just read a few here and there. And I realised that it's all like a cheap imitation of the Bible principles, amen, some parts of it, but there's a lot of flesh in it. And I felt is a very new agey.

So I felt I should put it down. And when I walked away, all of a sudden I felt like that there's a headache coming. And Pastor Mark was with me, I still remember. And I told him, like, you know, all of a sudden I'm having this headache. And it got stronger and stronger to the point I need to sit down. And I said, "Lord, what's happening? You know, I seldom have this kind of strong, you know, severe kind of headache". And this is what the Lord said to me. I heard his voice. This is what the Lord said to me. "You touched death". I said, "Well, how did I touch death"? He said, "When you picked up the book and you read". He said that, "You touched death". I said, "But I just read a bit". And the Lord says, "There's death in it. There's death in that pot. There's death in that book". And that's how we experience things like these. We don't even know that we are touching death. We're touching things that belong to the enemy. Amen. Things that are deadly. Amen.

So we need to be applied, so I need to go back to the Word, and I need to saturate myself with the Word. Amen. This time, it's not the blood. It is the washing of the water of the Word that I need, amen, to wash my mind out of all the things that I've read in that book. So every time Pastor Mark knows what book it is. And did I discover any secret in it? No, I didn't. You know, it's nothing, it's just new age stuff, which is not, in fact, it's deadly. So I just want to share with you that the Bible says the ministry of death, carved in stones, look at this in 2 Corinthians 3. "Now, if the ministry of death", let's stop there for a while. Just stop there just for a while, and let's look at this word ministry of death.

Now, it's one thing to say death carved in stones, but it's a ministry. It is a ministry. That last week we saw that Elijah had a ministry of condemnation. Amen. Mainly, for the most part, you'll find, except for people like Elisha, who was the successor of Elijah, his ministry, just like his name Elisha means my God saves. His ministry was more grace oriented. And he did double the miracles of Elijah. Exactly double. But Elijah was a ministry of the law and of condemnation. And we saw last week. And what does he do? He dispensed what, death. Amen. Ministry means you dispense, you confer, all right? That's what it means. Ministry of death. Amen. When you think about it, no one would think of attending a service where the minister is known as a minister of death, right? And yet, the Bible says very clearly, the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone. You can't say the ministry of death here is not the law.

You cannot say, "Pastor Prince, the law here is referring to circumcision, referring to the killing of sacrificial animals, is referring to, you know, washing of your hands, and things like that". No, no, friend. Those things are also under the law. Those things are the law, but they were never carved in stone. They were never engraved on stones, the King James says. The engraved with the finger of God is only the law, the Ten Commandments, okay? And the Bible says it very clearly. "The ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses's face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end". A lot of people, they don't want to accept the fact that there is glory, but it's nothing compared to the superseding glory, exceeding glory of the Spirit, of the ministry of righteousness, grace, but there is glory.

And that's why some revivals that used the ministry of condemnation, let me just pause here and show you that the ministry of death later on is called the ministry of condemnation. In verse 9, "For if there was glory". You see the words glory? "There was glory in the ministry of condemnation. The ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory". Hallelujah. Oh, I crave to be a minister of righteousness. I pray that my ministry confer righteousness for those who are lost. Amen. I pray that my ministry, and we know that God works through the ministries. Amen. It is God who confers. Amen. It is a gift of righteousness. I pray that my ministry for believers will confer a sense of that righteousness that you already are in Christ. Amen.

And the entire Bible, the Bible says is God breathed. Amen. Every Scripture is inspired of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, and what, righteousness. And New Testament righteousness is never about what you do. That's holiness, okay? Your holiness is, I believe in progressive sanctification, but I'm talking about righteousness here. Righteousness is always a gift. Amen. So the whole entire Bible is for us to learn about righteousness. Only when we are established in righteousness, it will affect our sanctification, our practical sanctification, so to speak. There is a positional sanctification we all have once and for all. When Christ died on the cross, not only are we justified, made righteous, but we are also sanctified, set apart, but I'm talking about the practical sanctification, holiness. Amen. All that can only be established when you are established in righteousness. That comes first.

You know, the Bible says Christ has made unto us wisdom. Wisdom comes first, the revelation, amen, and then righteousness before sanctification. Christ has made and to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification or holiness, and then redemption. Can you see that? The order is important. And that's why I feel that a lot of people they want to say, "What about holiness? What about sanctification"? You don't understand this truth that Paul is sharing, you're actually putting the cart before the horse. The cart will never pull the horse, the horse pulleth the cup. So friend, it's important that we look at the Bible. It's the Bible that uses the language, not Pastor Prince, not anybody else. The Bible says the ministry of death is that which is carved in letters of stone.

And then it says the law is also the ministry of condemnation. And in the Old Testament, Elijah will confer condemnation, and it was the ministry then because the people were under the law. And if they don't keep the law, condemnation is forthcoming. And not only that, but also death. Friend, we are no more under that ministry. The last minister of condemnation actually is John, John the Baptist. The Bible says, "For all the law and the prophets were until John. For all the law and the prophets were until John," amen. So, from then on Jesus came and brought grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came, hesed ve emet, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. In Hebrew it says, hesed ve emet, and it's throughout the Old Testament. Grace and truth, or true grace came by Jesus Christ, hallelujah, amen.

It's important that even for those who understand grace, it's important that you ask yourself, "Am I really under grace"? Because it is a daily thing, you know? Because in one day, in a day, you can actually be thinking that you are saved. "I believe the favor of God is on me," and grace is actually unmerited favor, amen. Then, the latter part of the day actually, you get into like, "What must I do? You know, I'm concerned about, you know, where I stand with God, or today I felt that, you know, I've done something wrong". And you're judging yourself now based on your actions.

"But Pastor Prince, isn't it important that people look at their actions"? No, friend, listen, your action is the outcome of your heart, amen. Grace and the gospel is not about behavior modification, it's about heart transformation. If your heart is right, amen, the fruit will be right. If a tree, if the root is right, the fruit will be right. And that's why it takes about four years for them to get good grapes. But even then they will not get the grapes, the fourth-year grapes for wine, for good wine, why? Because the roots are really not that deep yet. So, they wait until more years, amen. When the roots go deeper, the fruit get better. When the roots go deeper, your fruit gets better. So, we gotta focus on the roots. And here we are talking about root, the root, the ministry of death carved in letters on stone.

Now, I remember many years ago, I was sitting in my study, and this was back when I just got married and in the '90s. And I remember sitting down there and the Lord spoke to me and the Lord said this to me, all of a sudden, I just felt this rising up. And the Lord said to me, "No one died from Egypt to Sinai. No one died from Egypt to Sinai". Now, back then, I've never heard anyone preach this. I've never read it anywhere and it's that's the Lord said to me. "No one died, none of my people died from Egypt to Sinai". Now, I know the story of Egypt to Sinai. You know, we all watched that movie, you know, "Ten Commandments" and all that. We all know that God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, and brought them through a journey, right, all the way through the Red Sea, all the way through, you know, the bitter waters of Marah, and then to the other side, and finally to the foot of Mount Sinai. And that's when God gave the Ten Commandments.

Now, if you notice that from Egypt to Sinai, the people murmured, and you know that murmuring is sin, right? Murmuring, complaining is sin. Actually, the reason why they complain, in fact, they never stop complaining all the way until even the 40th year. You know, the year that Moses was provoked to hit the rock, the people were complaining before that. They say that, "Did you bring us out here from Egypt to die"? Imagine more than 30 years have passed, and they're still complaining about the same thing. They don't have a vision. And later on, Moses revealed the reason why that Moses said, "Because you said in your tents because the Lord hated us, he brought us out to die". Because the Lord hated us.

So, deep down in their heart, the root has not been removed. They really believed the Lord don't have their best interest. They're not conscious of the Lord's love, okay? So, they murmured. Even from Egypt, their murmured, so murmuring is sin, we have established that, right? So, when they first came to the borders of the Red Sea, remember that behind them were the armies of Pharaoh coming to kill them, and in front was the Red Sea. And what do they do? They complained, "Did you bring us out here to die, Moses"? And they murmured. The Bible says they murmured and complained. And God, what did God do? Did God punish them? Did any of them die? Out of the nearly two million plus to three million people, did any of them die? No, none of them died. What did God do? God opened up the Red Sea, and they ran through it, amen?

It was a three days' journey, and now they were okay for a while. Then they, three days' journey, they were at the bitter waters of Marah, remember? And they started complaining again. They murmured against the Lord. They murmured against the Lord, and the Lord showed Moses the tree, amen. The tree is always the answer, the cross of Jesus. You throw it into the waters and the waters became sweet. And they were happy for a while. And then later on, they complained there was no food and they murmured. They murmured against God, against Moses and Aaron. "Why did you bring us out here to die"? And how did God respond? God rained not judgment, God rained manna from heaven, and food came. And the Bible calls it in the Book of Psalms champions' food, angels' food, amen, food of the angels, amen. And God fed them, God fed their hunger. None of them died, not a single one died.

Complaining at the Red Sea, complaining at the waters of Marah, complaining that there was no food, none of them died. In fact, it's almost as if every fresh complaining brought fresh supplies. Now, not because of, but it's a demonstration that you don't deserve it, but I'm giving you unmerited favor. So, God was operating all the while on the covenant of what? Law, it was not yet given. Covenant that God established with the Father Abraham. It's an unconditional covenant. When God promised them the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey, it was an unconditional covenant, amen, where God says, "I will, I will, I will," amen.

So, God brought them all the way to the foot of... of course, that was the also the rock of at Rephidim where the first time God told, they complained there was no water and they complained, and that was before Sinai also. Again, no one died, but God brought water from the rock. And all the way at Mount Sinai, and at Mount Sinai God says that, "I brought you all the way to become a kingdom of priests unto me". Kingdom means what? Kings and priests. That's what we are today in Christ, a kingdom of priests. And God says, "I want to be, I want to be a holy nation set apart unto me", amen.

And, God says, "I've brought you on eagles' wings". I love it. In Exodus 19, "I brought you", God brought them all the way on eagles' wings. It's almost like it was a flight. Their feet did not hurt. It was by grace. Eagles' wings always speak of his grace. Amen, God renews your youth like the eagles. It's got to do with grace, amen. And you know what they said at the foot of the Mount Sinai? Now, God has not yet given the Ten Commandments. That is in the next chapter. In Exodus 19, they said, in Hebrew, kol means everything, kol asher debir, debir is from dabar, God's word. It's a very emphatic word. Everything that God can command us, everything that God can say to us, they have not even heard what God will command them. "We will do it. We will do it". Kol asher debir Adonai. Is a very stong word. It means, we will do it.

But you see, this is where man presumed on his righteousness, which he has none. Man presume on his abilities, which he has none. Man presume on his strength, which he has none. You must understand, this is the reason why God gave the law. The law is holy. It cannot make man holy. The law is just, it cannot justify you before God. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. It's not the knowledge of righteousness, it's the knowledge of sin, amen. And God says to Adam and Eve, "the day you partake of the tree of knowledge"... wait a minute, who planted a tree there? God but God planted the tree because if everything is good, and you can choose nothing but good because everything that God made is good, all right, and there's nothing that is called upon you to exercise your freewill, wherein lies then your freewill, the power of your freewill? So, God has to set apart one tree where God says, "Don't eat from that tree, for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die".

Now, is there something wrong with the tree itself? No, God planted the tree, and it's part of the the statement of when God says, God saw everything that he had made, and God said it was good. The tree is part of it, it's good, but it's not good for man. So, God wanted that particular tree to be left by man, not eating from that tree, not even wanting to be, you know, finding their sustenance in their tree because God has provided all the trees and they're the only beneficiaries. Imagine the wealth. All the trees in Eden were theirs. But the devil came in and the devil tempted Eve to partake of the very thing.

So, the Bible says that in 1 Corinthians 15, the sting of death is, what? Sin, we all know that. And the strength of sin is the law. The strength of sin is the law. That's why the Bible says sin will have no power over you, Romans 6:14. When? When you are not under law, but under grace. When will sin have no power? It's like almost like people, please read the Bible, please read the Bible. People are so quick to say you know, the Bible says, the Bible says, "What shall we say then? Shall we sin that grace may abound"? Yeah, read the Bible. What's the answer? God forbid. "How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer"? No true believer can live in sin. They may commit sin, but they cannot live in sin as a lifestyle. They are dead to sin. The answer is that it's an impossibility to cause to sin so that grace may abound. It's an impossibility.

How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? And then you keep on reading you'll come to verse 14 where it says, "Sin shall not have dominion over you because you are not under law, but under grace". And I so want God's people that sin will have no dominion. Satan will have no dominion. Sickness will have no dominion. Depression will have no dominion. Nothing of the fall will have dominion over you because sin will not have dominion over you, amen? Because you are not under law, but under grace. So, reverse that if you're under law, the strength of sin is the law.

So, does any stand to reason then that if the devil wants to bring sin to your life, for him to just come in front of you and say, "Go, sin," how many of you will wise up to it? You will know very clearly. No, the way he came to Eve is the same way he'll come to you. Look at the tree, it's called the tree of knowledge of good and evil, not just the knowledge of evil, friend, the knowledge of good and evil. What's wrong with knowledge of good and evil? Plenty wrong because, you know what? Only God can handle the knowledge of good and evil because the day you take of it, you'll end up trying to do the good, but end up doing the evil. And isn't that a picture of the law?

The law is the knowledge of good and evil. Hence, in Romans 3, verse 20, "By the law is the knowledge of sin," knowing what is good and not able to do it. Like what Paul says in Romans 7, "You know when I was under the law, the good I want to do, I want to do the good, but I end up doing the bad. And then I realized that in my flesh dwells no good thing. Whenever I want, I will to do what is good, evil is present with me". It's a principle. You can not live by the tree of knowledge of good and evil, friend. God wanted them to live by the tree of life, amen, which is Christ. So, back to Mount Sinai, and they boasted and say, "Whatever God commands us, we can do it". We can do it. Amen.

The very next thing you see, what do you see? You see the golden calf, amen. At the foot of Mount Sinai, you see a golden calf. They built a golden calf. So, what's a golden calf? It's a violation of the very first commandment. "You shall have no other gods before me". So, the strength of sin is the law. The moment you put yourself under the law, my friend, you come under the power of sin. And look at the sin they committed, it's not just any sin. It's a sin of knowing the pillar of fire that was so close with them when they came out of Egypt, the pillar of cloud that protected them from the noonday sun, the scorching heat of the sun. The presence of God is with them. They knew that they saw the thundering and they knew God is with them. And yet, think about the ramifications of that golden calf, what it means.

It's like, you know, the worst kind of sin you can commit. The very first violation, you know, we don't acknowledge God, we acknowledge another god saying that the golden calf is the thing that brought us out of Egypt. The Bible says the Jewish people tell us that that was the Feast of Pentecost. When God gave the law in the next chapter, right, because they were so boastful, they said, you know, all the God says, God says, "Okay, Moses". In Exodus 19 before God gave the law, "Moses, tell them don't come near the mountain. I set a boundary around the Mount Sinai, and even if an animal will touch the mountain, the foot of the mountain, it will be striked dead so don't come near". God never used this "Don't come near" language with them when he was with them in Egypt.

In fact, he was so near with them, right, in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. When they crossed the Red Sea, God opened up the sea, went before them, and then his presence went behind them to protect them from Pharaoh's marauding army. He was so close to them. He never, never punished them because why? They came out of Egypt, not based on their goodness, but based on his goodness, not based on their faithfulness, but based on his faithfulness. He brought them, opened up the Red Sea because of his faithfulness. He sweetened the waters of Marah because of his fidelity, because of his faithfulness, because of his goodness, not theirs. All the way to Sinai, he was dependent on the Abrahamic Covenant, which means all depended on God.

Now, does that mean that God doesn't care about their character? No, no, friend. The the longer they were under grace, there'll be a transformation. But as long as you're under law, you cannot be transformed and that was proven, right, even the final year they were still complaining. But this time, post Sinai after God gave the Ten Commandments when they complained, they died. When they complained, they died. When they murmured, they died. What's the difference? It's the same sin, murmuring and complaining before Sinai and after Sinai. What was the difference? I know I've said a lot, just based on single statement from God in my little study, I still remember my little study when I just got married and God said to me, "No one died," and I began to study this.

And I'm telling you it's like it opened up. That's what launched my ministry of recovering the gospel of grace, amen. Back then, it wasn't this popular, amen. And when I say popular, I don't like to use the jargon but actually God is restoring the gospel of grace, people, amen, to the Benjamin generation. Hallelujah. And from then on when they sin, you know why? Because they told God, "Do not judge us anymore. Do not bless us. Do not deal with us based on your goodness, your faithfulness. From now on whatever you say to us, we can do it. All right, deal with us based on our goodness". In essence, that's what they're saying. That's what being under law means. That means if I do good, you bless me. If I obey you, you bless me. If I disobey you, you know, you have to curse. That's what they, in essence, they brought into.

And don't forget in James it says, doesn't say you break one law, you're guilty of that law you break. No, in James it says that if you break one law, you are guilty of all. I'm just wondering, friend, with all that I'm sharing here, whether we understand the ramifications. You know, even before the law was given, even before the law was given, and I'm just still in the preliminaries of what I want to share in my message, so please keep on tuning in. But really even before the law was given in Romans 5, "Therefore just as through one man sin entered the world," we know that man is Adam, "and death through sin and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world".

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let's stop here for a while. What is the argument of Paul here by the Holy Spirit? What is he trying to show us? He's trying to show us that sin was already in the world long before at Mount Sinai God gave the law, okay? For until the law, so until the law means until the law came, sin was already in the world. We all know that, but look at this. "But sin is not imputed when there is no law". So, there is sin, but sin is not imputed to the people when there is no law. Think about that. Just stop and meditate on that for a while. Have you ever meditated on that before? Sin is not imputed where there is no law, but there is sin, but it's not imputed to the people when there is no law, okay?

Now, come back to this again, verse 14, we are winding down here. "nevertheless, death reigned, look at this, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who wants to come". Death reigned from Adam to Moses, why Moses? Because Moses is when the law was given. Like the Bible said the law was given by Moses. It's a picture of the law. So here, death still reigned.

But you know something? When I studied this period of time, if you study in the Book of Genesis this period of time from Adam to Moses, people lived hundreds of years. No doubt as a few centuries passed right from 900 over years to 600 over years, to 400 over years, to 200 over years, but they still lived long lives. But there was sin, and death came in, but death came in, it's almost like death was kept away, why? Because there was no consciousness of sin. There was sin, but there was no consciousness of sin and therefore, death was unable to seize upon them. Do you get what I'm saying here? Now, go back to the verse before this. It says, "Until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law". And I say to the Lord, "Lord, what about all those people who died"? Amen. There were punished. We see Sodom and Gomorrah, right. We see Onan who spilled the seed, amen, and all this.

And God said to me one thing, "Even Noah's flood was during this time, right"? So what was the reason? The main reason was that all these sins, it seems like it was imputed. I was telling the Lord, "How can you say it's not imputed"? Because it's in all these cases, it was the enemy trying to stop the seed, the promised seed from coming. God promised Adam and Eve after they fell that the woman's seed will crush Satan's head, so Satan heard that. The very first prophecy was given by God and Satan knew that from the woman will come the seed. Amen. And he didn't know, you know, the devil is not all-knowing. Praise God. All right.

So the devil doesn't know who is the seed so he killed Abel. Remember, that he had Cain kill his brother Abel? The sons of Adam. Right. And on and on, he was trying to kill his seed. That goes for Sodom and Gomorrah. It's all trying to stop the seed from coming. The promised seed. That goes for Onan who spilled his seed and then it goes for the universal flood when the sons of, you know, the Bible talks about angels actually. These are fallen angels. Okay? They came to cohabit with the women of earth, and they produced a race that's half human, actually half fallen angelic, you know, Nephilim, the Bible calls them. And they try to corrupt what? The promised seed.

The devil, in doing this, using his fallen angels, he was trying to stop the promised seed from coming. But friend, here I am to declare to you the seed has come. His name is Jesus. Hallelujah. At the cross, he conquered the devil's head. Hallelujah. He crush his head. Amen. Amen. And we are all beneficiaries of it. Amen. So there was sin, but the other sins were not imputed to them. Only for these sins. Any sin that tried to stop the seed was destroyed. Amen. So it's not referring to the kind of sin where we refer to today. Amen. So any sin that tries to stop the seed from coming, back then from Adam to Moses, was very serious with God. Okay, nonetheless, it stands true, "Sin is not imputed when there is no law," therefore, there is no consciousness. By the law is the knowledge of sin.

So God gave the law so that men will become conscious of sin. But the thing is that with consciousness of sin comes what? Death. Oh, just when I'm getting excited. I got to wrap this up and we'll continue again. But just one more Scripture and then we'll close. Look at Hebrews chapter 10. Verse 1 says, "The law, since the law was only a shadow of good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year, every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would this offerings," referring to the offerings, "would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins"?

I want to ask you what's wrong with having consciousness of sins? I mean in Christendom today, it is encouraged. We say that the church is not aware that she has sinned. So we should have sermons that tell people about their sins, that bring to light their sins. In fact, we should tell individuals what's wrong with them, their sins. We should look at sin, sin, sin, sin. Now, this is the opposite of the true gospel. The Bible says, "Worshipers, having once". And the word once there in the Greek is hapax, which means once and for all cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Once and for all, "Cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins"? But look at what happened. The next verse says, "But in these sacrifices," which they offer year by year, "there is a reminder of sins every year". He's referring to the day of atonement. Every year, they offer on the day of atonement, a sin offering, why? Because it is to remind them of sins.

Now, this word "reminder" is the same word Jesus used in the upper room when he says, "This do in remembrance". The word "remembrance" is the same, the Greek word here. Do this in remembrance of me. We are to remember Jesus. We are to remember that he is our righteousness. He's our wisdom. He's our life. He is our holiness. He's our redemption. He is my life and the length of my days. Amen. We are to be conscious of him. But conscious of sin is the opposite of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And my time is up. Keep on tuning in. Keep on hearing the Word of God. I want to pray for those of you who are having challenges in your body and you've been diagnosed with certain kind of condition, whatever it is, or you are just concerned about your body because some symptoms have come up. And let's pray and believe God that the same work of Jesus at the cross has put an end to that condition. Amen. Praise the Lord in Jesus's name.

Father, I thank you for everyone that's watching. Right now, under the sound of my voice, Father, I thank you, Lord, that for those that are born again, Father, your Word says, 'that healing is the children's bread.' It's their portion paid for by the blood of Jesus. So right now, in the name of Jesus, I speak life, health and healing to all their bodies in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command their bodies to line up with the Word of God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Your spirit of infirmity, loose them and let them go in the name of Jesus Christ. You foul spirit of infirmity, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, loose their bodies and let them go in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord. Receive your healing right now. Be healed in the name of the Lord Jesus. Yes, in that name. That wonderful name. That name means healing. Amen. That name is redemption. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, be healed from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet. Hallelujah, in Jesus's name.

In the name of Jesus, I speak to every depression, depart in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. Let the peace of God, the shalom peace, fill your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. In Jesus's name, thank you, Father. And I pray, Father, I speak your shalom peace also onto every relationship, Lord, husband and wife, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Parent and child, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father. Let the jubilee of God's sound forth from every home, Lord. That freedom, that liberation, Lord, in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Friends stand fast in the liberty where with Christ has set us free and don't be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. So it's very subtle as we see, and we want to continue to preach. I'm so careful about not continuing preaching. You can tell, he gave me a Word and I'll take off. Praise God. If you're watching this right now, you've never made Jesus Christ your personal Savior and Lord, pray this prayer with me right now. The Bible says, "Only by faith, only by grace," amen, "and only Christ saves". Not us, not our works, not trying to do better. None of this saves. Amen. So pray this simple prayer before the Lord. Say:

Father God, I confess. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I thank you. Christ died for my sins, rose again from the dead for my justification. Father in heaven, I believe that you love me and that you will only have a wonderful plan for me, for my life. So I fully submit to you, Father. Jesus Christ is my Lord in Jesus's name. Amen. Amen, amen, amen.

And what Jesus did 2000 years ago at the cross. Actually, I shouldn't even say 2000 years ago. It's as if he died just now. As far as God is concerned, the cross is outside time, what Christ did for you. Friend, it's all yours now. Amen. You know, right now, I want you to know this, that your status as a person before God's eyes, all right, has changed. You are now his child. Don't see God as like, well, Jesus is my Savior. Jesus is the one that, you know, is kind and loving, but God is stern. No, no, no. It's God what sent his Son. It's God who loves us. It's the father who runs to hug that son.

You know, by now he smells and reeks of the pigpen. You know, but the father went, and Jesus shared this parable to let you know that that's how the Father loves you. Amen. And for the rest of you, remember this child of God, God calls you, "Dear children," in Ephesians, "my dear children". That is a very endearing term. Amen. Think of God that way. Don't think of God as a judge. Amen. Praise the Lord. There I go preaching again. Hallelujah. Okay, stand to your feet wherever you are. Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Praise the name of Jesus. Yeah, lift your hand before the Lord:

The Lord bless you and the Lord keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and on your families and be favorable to you. And may you and all your loved ones throughout this week, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, be kept protected from the COVID-19 virus. Kept by the power of God from every sickness. Kept by the power of God from all harm, danger and from all evil in the name of Jesus. And the Lord grant you and your families his wonderful shalom peace in the name of the Lord Jesus.