Joseph Prince - No Longer A Slave To Fear

This book, "Give Me This Mountain", we know one great blessing from this book is that it is like a journey. It's an expedition. We wrote it in such a way that it's like you're going for a hiking expedition, and every chapter is your base camp. It's from base camp one all the way, you know, throughout the book. You feel like your faith is building with every chapter as we study the life of Caleb. And Caleb is actually my, one of my favorite Bible characters because in his old age at 85 years old he says to Joshua, "Give me this mountain". And he says this, "I am as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me as a spy". And that was like 45 years ago, and yet he was strong today. And he stood before Joshua and said, "Give me this mountain". And you know, people like Caleb, Joshua, there are people who are under the law. You know, they are people that they were there when God gave the Ten Commandments, you know, and one of it is, "Thou shall not lie".

So, you know for a fact that when he says, "I'm as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me," there's no exaggeration. It's not boy who take license, amen, he's as strong. What's his secret? And I share the secret in this book, and you will feel your faith being built up, amen. And just like Joshua and Caleb, you will be among the minority because they were among the minority, 2 out of the 12 spies that would say, "Give me this mountain. The giants are bread for us". Amen. And the Lord honored the spirit. I love what the Lord said about Joshua and Caleb, especially Caleb. The Lord himself says this, "But my servant, Caleb, he has a different spirit. He will enter the land". I love that, he has a different spirit. And that that's what caused me to study on Caleb and the secret of his faith, which I reveal in this book. So, I recommend you this book highly because I know it'll be a blessing to you and it will build your faith. Are you ready for the Word? Praise God.

Let's go right into the Word of God in Galatians chapter 3. We want to share with you something that God has for us. And I was so blessed by this sermon because as I was preparing the sermon, the Lord gave me some fresh revelations that I know will be a great blessing to you as well. In Galatians 3, verse 22, it says, "But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe". Faith in Jesus Christ. When the Bible talks about faith, it's always faith in Jesus Christ. In what sense? It's always in the sense of justification by faith. Today we celebrate the reformers day, amen, or it was yesterday, Saturday on the 31st of October. And Martin Luther was the one that called this day the reformers day. And it should be celebrated. It should be celebrated because it was the restoration of the gospel of grace to the body of Christ.

For so long, the body of Christ was held in bondage, in darkness, in ignorance. And the Bible says that we are alienated from the life of God through ignorance. And ignorance today can also separate you from the life of God that's inside you, child of God, amen. You're not able to partake of it, you're not able to walk in it. And when the light of the reformation shone in through the ministry of Martin Luther, it was these words, "The righteous shall live by faith," amen? And another sense that that word can actually mean is also, and it's not doing anything wrong to the original Greek. In fact, it's the way that many reformers would also translate it. The righteous by faith will live, amen. It is justification by faith, which is the essence of the gospel, amen. The gospel we preach today has got to have the righteousness of God revealed in it, amen.

So, let's continue. It says, "Now before faith came, before righteousness by faith came, we were held captive under the law". Notice that being under the law is being held captive. "Imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed". Now primarily, he's talking about the Jewish people that were under the law. And Paul includes himself being a Jew himself. And though he's writing to Jewish believers as well he's saying, "We were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came". Notice the law is until. The law is not permanent. The law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. There you go, justified by faith and the word here is dikaioo which is declared righteous by faith, that we might be declared righteous by faith, and God declares as righteous. "But now that faith has come, faith righteousness has come, we are no longer under a guardian. We are no longer under the law. For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith".

You know, the Greeks and the Romans, as well as the Jewish people, they have the wealthy families. They have a guardian. They have a number of what they call paidagogos. These are people, paidi means a child, and they are the child trainer. So, they bring up the master's child, and they train the child. From early morning, they will make sure the child gets up on the time if he's supposed to get up. They are in charge of his morals, as well as his physical well-being and his physical build up. So, all these Greeks and Romans, they make sure that their child, the wealthy family, they're able to engage. And, of course, they have servants and they have stewards of the house. And the one that they trust the most is the one that's called the paidagogos, and the paidagogos, the guardian, is in charge of only the morals and the physical development of the boy, amen. He will bring the boy to school for the education part. He doesn't educate the boy. He will bring the boy to school. But he will tell the boy, all right, how to use a sword. He will train the boy. He will make sure the boy goes to gymnasium, and the boy builds his physical being, as well as the morals. He make sure the boy observe the morals, but he's not involved in the education part of it.

So, the Bible says the law was our schoolmaster, our guardian, until. There is an until, until Christ came. Now, after Christ has come or, in other words, in the Scriptures that you read just now, it says, "After righteousness by faith has come, we are no longer under the law. We are no longer under the guardian," amen? So, the Bible says, "In Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith. If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise". I love this. Look at the New King James. "If you are Christ's then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise". That reminds you of the promise that God gave Abraham. God says, "And in thy seed," amen, always. "And I'll bless you and your seed". In Romans 4:13, the Bible says the promise that Abraham would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Now, this word "heir of the world" is always intrigued me that God promised Abraham that he will be the heir of the world. What does that mean? The word "world" here is cosmos. If you look at the word "cosmos," it is where you get the word, your word "cosmetic" come from the word "cosmos". It means a beautiful, orderly arrangement of the universe. Literally, you know, when everything works out in the way that God wants it to work out, there's cosmos, amen. And from there, you get the word "cosmetic," which is the orderly arrangement of your face, amen. Now, the word "cosmos" is also the word, if you look it up in Thayer's definition of the Greek word there, it's also the privileges, the riches, all right, and the rule and the influence of the world, the cosmos. Now, we know that the devil wants to plan himself, and we know that ever since Adam fell, God made Adam actually the ruler of the cosmos. But Adam committed high treason, a sin against God, and bowed his knee to an outlaw spirit, which is Satan himself. And Satan became the small g-o-d of this world, as shown in 2 Corinthians 4:4. He's the god of this world that has blinded the minds of the people who don't believe.

So, right now, God promised Abraham. God raised Abraham, and God cut a covenant with Abraham that Abraham will be the heir of the world, amen. So, God cannot just come in and take the authority of the keys over this world from Satan's hands because Adam gave it to him. So, God cannot just come in because God gave it to Adam. God has to do it righteously, judicially. And the way God did it is God cut a covenant with a man on earth. His name was Abraham. But you see, the devil could challenge of God and say, "How can you, Almighty God, who is able to do everything and anything, all right, cut a covenant with a mere man, a mere mortal, a man who is subject to witnesses and all that? How can you cut a covenant with this man"? So, God allowed a test to come in, amen, to prove forever that Abraham can do his part in the covenant, and that was to give up his son, Isaac. And at the brink of really plunging and he was all out, and Satan knew that if God did not stop Abraham, Abraham would have plunged the knife into his son. And God stopped him. And God says, "Now I know that you fear me because you have not withheld your son, your only son".

Now, that opens the door for God because God is a covenant partner now. Abraham has not withheld his son, God will now not withhold his son, but give him for all of us. Isn't that a beautiful story, amen? And the devil can't challenge that because it's a covenant relationship. So God, God chose Abraham, and God cut a covenant with Abraham, and God says that all the promises of this covenant is to you and to your seed. So, if that is true, and the Bible says just now we read, "And if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise". So, if we are Christ's, and we are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and you are an heir according to the promise. What's the promise? In Romans 4:13 again, "The promise that he will be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed".

Now, who is this seed? Primarily, it's Christ, but it is also you and I, my friend. We are in Christ, therefore we are Abraham's seed, and we are heirs according to a promise. And what is the promise? That Abraham will be the heir of the world. Now, it's hard to be the heir of the world if you are sick and you are always, you know, on your back, right? So, to be the heir of the world, healing has been part of it, amen. Healing is the lesser to the promise of being the heir of the world. And to be the heir of the world, you have to be prosperous. You have to bless others, amen, and to extend God's kingdom. You have to have the means, amen, the provisions, the supply. So, you have to be prosperous. So, even prosperity is a lesser blessing compared to the heir of the world. It's all included in the heir of the world. And most importantly, you have to have right standing with God, which is the number-one blessing of Abraham, which is righteousness, righteousness by faith, amen, that makes you right with God, that cause everything in your life to line up with the kingdom of God, amen. And we are still in the process of that.

But why is the church always, you know, sick and broke? Why are they not possessing the blessing of Abraham when the Bible says they are heirs according to the promise because they are Abraham's seed? I submit to you it's because we are trying to get it through the law as opposed to through the righteousness of faith. God said, "This promise that you'll be the heir of the world, Abraham, is not to you or to your seed through the law. It's not via the law. It is via the righteousness of faith". And how have we been trying to get it? By bringing back the law, by telling people the more they keep the law, God will bless them. You know, the more they keep the law, the more blessings will come their way. Nothing could be further from the truth. Now, I've established, in all my past teachings, that the law is good, holy, and just. We are talking about heart transformation, not behavior modification.

Some people say that, "You know, Pastor Prince, it's an antinomian". No, antinomian means anti-law. I am for the law for the reason God gave the law. If you teach the law and tell people they can keep it, you are actually a true antinomian because you are coming against the purpose for which the law was given, amen. The law is good for any society to adopt. The law, the Ten Commandments will make any country that adopts it, and many countries have done that, amen. Down through history, they have adopted the Judeo-Christian principles and basically the Ten Commandments. And they have progressed, amen. They have become prosperous. Their social life have been elevated, amen. Women are respected and honored, and people have this moral order, amen, which is good. But it's all behavior modification, amen. The moment law and order breaks down, amen, the moment there is no police, you will see what happen. The heart comes out, anarchy rules, amen.

That's why the law, in that sense, the Bible says we cannot be under the law. But worse, the Bible says, Romans 7, the more you try to keep the law, the Bible says sin through the law became exceeding sinful. "For I had not known lust," Paul said. Except the law had said, "Thou shall not covet. The law wrought in me," he says, "The law wrought in me, work in me all manner of lust, all manner of evil desires". In other words, the flesh needs the law to stir up, amen. It's like the sediment in a cup. You know, as long as the sediments have settled after for a while, the glass of water looks clean. But the moment you put in a spoon and you start stirring it, all the sediments goes up. So, nothing wrong with a spoon. The spoon is beautiful, stainless steel, amen. Nothing wrong with the spoon, amen. You can't blame the spoon, but the spoon in the cup stirring it causes the flesh, causes the dirt and the sediments to rise up.

So, Paul says in Romans 7, "We are delivered from the law, that we should serve a newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter". He says, "Brethren, you are dead to the law". So, those who try to keep the law, they are saying they're not dead because the Bible says we are dead only to sin, that's Romans 6. But Romans 7 says we are debt to the law. So, we have no power to do, now listen, we have no power to do good, all right? And we cannot but do evil. That's sin, Romans 6. So, the thing is this, the answer is the cross of Jesus Christ. Where we have been crucified with Christ, we have been, we have died with Christ. You are dead with Christ, amen, through the body of Christ to sin, Romans 6, but also to the law. In Romans 7 Paul says that, amen.

So, we need to understand our death in Christ. But not only that, we need to know that we are raised with Christ, amen, and that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. Praise God. That's your real position now in the eyes of God that cannot see any other reality but truth, amen, that cannot see any other false realities, I should say, but only the truth. God sees you seated with Christ. God sees you righteous in Christ. God sees you complete, whole, in Christ. God sees you holy and blameless in Christ. Hallelujah. Praise the name of Jesus, amen. Praise the Lord. Ooh, hallelujah. So, the promise is not through the law, and we are trying to get it through the law, all right? But the promise is through the righteousness of faith, amen. So, if you look at the next verse, it says, "If those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void".

Now notice, what voids faith? If you try to get it by the law. Faith is made void, and the promise made of no effect. We don't want that to happen. We don't want the promise to be of no effect in our lives. So, what causes the promised to be of no effect, sin? No, we are all against sin, but in the context here, it is the law that makes the promise of no effect in your life. The more you try to keep it, the promise cannot take effect because the promise can only come to you through the righteousness of faith, not trying to be righteous by your efforts, okay? And here it says, "Because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression".

Now, friend, let's go back to Galatians 3. This is so exciting a teaching because, you know, when God gave me some of the fresh things that I've never seen before, you know, as I was preparing this, I want to share with you in a while's time. But I just want you to know that, child of God, it's important that this is settled. This is the main issue the devil is battling with. He doesn't mind that you come and talk about, you know, against sin and that kind of thing because he knows that the most subtle spirit that comes in is the religious spirit that comes in and makes you think that you can keep the Ten Commandments. You can do it, amen. Not to do it is to disobey God. But the moment you try to do it, the very attempt to do it is to say you're not dead in Christ through the law. And the moment you do that, you stir up your flesh. You know, I am for holiness, but friend, holiness cannot come about, amen.

In fact, Paul says when he was under the law, he brought forth fruit unto death. But when he was married to Jesus Christ, when he was dead to the law to be married to Jesus Christ, all this in Romans 7, he brought forth fruit unto God. So, you decide. You want fruit unto death or fruit unto God, amen, to the glory of God? The only way is to be dead to the law, amen. And then you can live unto Jesus. You cannot go to Mr. Law, and then go to Jesus. That's spiritual adultery and that's talked about in Romans 7 from the very first verse, okay? So, here we need to be established in this righteousness by faith, amen. And then that doesn't mean that we become licentious and we become lawless. That's the natural reasoning of the human mind. If you don't have the law, then how to teach our children the Ten Commandments if the Ten Commandments is removed? How to teach them?

No, you teach them based on identity. You are a Jesus boy. A Jesus boy does not tell lies. A Jesus boy speaks the truth. A Jesus boy does not beat others, amen. A Jesus boy loves others. And be a protector, amen, and not a bully, amen. A Jesus boy. That's how I teach my boy, identity, amen. I don't bring the Ten Commandments to him, amen. Even those who advocate the Ten Commandments, they don't even know. They don't even memorize the Ten Commandments. There's no grace to memorize the Ten Commandments. But even little children can memorize John 3:16. Friend, there's something there that God wants us to learn. We cannot receive, nor can we be healed, nor can we be prosperous, nor can we walk with God if we are trying to keep the law. We cannot inherit, amen. We are fallen from grace. So, this is a very crucial issue. We must establish this once and for all. So, if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, Abraham's offspring, and heirs according to the promise.

I love this Abraham's offspring because it reminds me even Jesus, when he was walking on earth. If you say that all the Jewish people are Abraham's seed, yes and no. The Bible, when the Bible talk about if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, obviously, many Jewish people during Jesus's time did not belong to him. They did not believe in him. So, they are naturally the physical descendants of Abraham, but they are not Abraham's seed. Because it is those who believe in Jesus Christ who are Abraham's seed. And that opens up the gospels to us also because remember that woman who was bound for 18 years, and she always was looking down? She was bowed down for 18 years, the number of the Antichrist, six plus six plus six. And Jesus loosed her and she was healed. Jesus says, "Be loosed, woman," amen. And she was loosed. She was freed and she stood up. Oh, hallelujah.

The first face she saw was our Lord Jesus. She beheld the glory of God in his face. And then the Pharisee, the Pharisee should be happy that one of his synagogue members got healed, right? But instead of that, he says, "There are six days men ought to work". Notice his "ought to" is in labor. His "ought to" is in the law. "There are six days men ought to work. Come on those days and be healed in them, and not on the Sabbath". And Jesus says, "You hypocrite. Does not each one of you when you have an ox or a donkey that is thirsty, bring them to the waters"? And Jesus says, now listen to Jesus's ought. "Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham". Now, not all the women in the synagogue are daughters of Abraham. Jesus is talking about, "Ought not this woman being". At that moment, she heard Jesus preach and her faith arose in our heart. Because her faith rose in Jesus in her heart, she's now a daughter. She is now being a daughter of Abraham, and I cannot allow her one moment longer to be in this bondage. The moment she is a daughter of Abraham, the moment she is an offspring of Abraham, she ought to be loosed. Hallelujah. Amen, amen.

"Ought not this woman," Jesus says, "whom Satan has bound these 18 years, being a daughter of Abraham, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day"? Hallelujah. Another time he used that phrase that's actually in Zacchaeus's house. And you know Zacchaeus was a tax collector. And when Jesus said, "I'm coming to your house," and they really, the people around, you know, the scandal of grace started. No, grace, there's a scandal on grace. And this reformers day, I just want to tell you this, Martin Luther was hunted down, was persecuted because of his belief in righteousness by faith. That's the main belief. And that's the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the scandal of grace has never stopped. In fact, not just from Martin Luther's time, all the way from the early church, especially in Paul's ministry, the scandal of Jesus's ministry rather, amen. All the way from here, you can see this scandal of grace. They started whispering, "He has gone to eat with a sinner".

Zacchaeus, implying Bacchus is a sinner. By the end of that meal, what happened? We have Zacchaeus standing up and saying, "You know, if I've cheated anyone, I'll repay him fourfold. Half my goods, I'll give to the poor". And what did Jesus say? Jesus says, "Today salvation"... You know, if you hear Jesus speak in his language, all right, in Hebrew, he will in Aramaic, he will say, "Today Yeshua has come to this house. Today Yeshua has come, salvation has come to this house because he also is a son of Abraham. He also is an offspring of Abraham". When Zacchaeus climbed the tree and looked at Jesus and the Spirit of God touched his heart and he realized Jesus is the true Messiah, he believed in Jesus, then and there he became the son of Abraham. "Today salvation has come into your house," because he also is a son of Abraham, Jesus said, amen? If you look at Zacchaeus, his heart was not open because Jesus gave him the law.

In fact, the chapter before that, you have the rich young ruler, and that's Luke 18. Luke 19, you have the story of Zacchaeus. Why did the Holy Spirit put this story side by side? We know that it didn't happen in chronological order. So, why did the Holy Spirit put them side by side? Because it's to show us the effect of putting the rich young ruler under the law. He could hardly give up a shekel. He walked away. Jesus gave him the law. When he asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life"? Jesus could have said, "Believe on me," but Jesus knew his trust was in himself. He says, "All these commandments I have kept from my youth up". So, Jesus gave him the directive to show whether his heart is in the first commandment, where, "You shall have no other gods". And obviously, mammon had his heart. Jesus said, "Sell all you have and give to the poor". And that's not something Jesus asks for from every Christian, only from this man, to show where his heart is at, and he walked away sorrowful. He walked away sorrow, He didn't even give up one shekel.

So, when Jesus gave the law, the law shows up, what man is like, amen? In his bankruptcy, amen? When you boast that you keep the Ten Commandments, when you boast that you keep the law, Jesus will always say one thing you lack. For the next chapter, Jesus gave no laws to Zacchaeus, only grace. "Zacchaeus, come down. I must eat at your house". I love all the I musts of Jesus, the musts of Jesus, and the shoulds of Jesus and the oughts of Jesus, amen? Ought not this woman be loosed? I must eat at your house, amen? Because why? You are a soul that needs to be saved, amen? "I must eat at your house". I love it, I love it, I love it, amen. Abraham's seed. Now, he says we are heirs according to the promise, in verse 29, because we are Abraham's seed. And why are we Abraham's seed? Because we are Christ's. I mean, he goes on that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he's the owner of everything. Wow, he's the owner of everything.

So, imagine a wealthy man having his only son, and his son is four years old. Now, although the son, technically the son is the heir, okay? And the son is the owner of everything, legally speaking, amen. When the father passes on, or the father want to hand over his inheritance, it would not be to one of the servants, amen? It would not be to one of his employees, you know, in his many corporations, but it would be to his son, all right? The son is the owner of everything, but can the son drive his Ferrari? Can his son drive his Rolls-Royce? Can his son play golf at his golf clubs? Can his son drive his car or do anything else that he want to do, and that his father has the privilege of doing? No. And the Bible says it's no different from a slave, when you are a child, right? So here we learn a lesson because we see what is Paul arguing from? He's talking about the Jewish people, when they were a child, as long as he's a child, it's no different from a slave, though he's the owner of everything.

So, the word child here is the word nepios. Now, the word nepios in the Greek means an infant, a minor, or a young child, okay? An infant, a minor, or a young child. It's not used for older children. It's infant, minor, or a young child. So, the Bible says that when we Jewish people, Paul is saying when we were minors, all right? When we were an infant. God considers Israel in the Old Testament under the law as infants, and that's why this child has to be under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. So, there's a date set by his father, where the father, and the Greeks observe this, so do the Jews. There is a special feast, a special celebration where his own son come into sonship. He will say today you are my son. Or the Jewish person would say you are the son of the law, bar mitzvah. And there's a ceremony they go through, okay? So, it's a day appointed. But the son, as long as he's a child, Israel is a child, they were under guardians and managers. That is all the laws given, all right, to govern them, and laws are given to children.

That's why, you know, when... I always say this. Like, when Jessica my daughter was four or five years old, she had friends that come over to play. And maybe about five, six years old at the time. And I remember little kids running around, and they would run to the kitchen. And I would tell them, "Hey, hey, kids, all right, don't play in the kitchen, okay? There are knives here. Don't touch the knives. All right, don't touch the gas stoves, all right"? Now, why do I say that? Why do I say the don'ts? Why? Because they are children, amen? Now, if you come to my house, and I tell you, "Hey, friend, before we go on fellowshipping, I just want to let you know, okay, don't touch my gas stove, okay? And don't play with my kitchen knives". Now, that would be insulting you, okay, friend? So, to say that we are not under law, that means we want to go and sin, that we'll commit adultery, we'll tell lies, we'll murder, we will worship other gods, you know, that is really to insult the very maturity that God is giving us when we come into righteousness by faith, amen? So, but why? Because those who were under the law. They were nepios.

That's Paul's argument here. And Paul is saying that's why they were under tutors and governors until the time appointed, okay? "In the same way we also", right, we Jewish people, "when we were children", when we were nepios, infants, minors, little children, "we were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world". If you look up this word, elementary principles, the word elementary here is the word stoicheion, and stoicheion literally, if you look it up, it says it is the first principles. And there's another definition there, the first letters of the alphabet, the letters of the alphabet, A, B, C, D, E, or in the Hebrew, alef, bet, gimmel, dalet, hei. You know, it is the letters of the alphabet, the fundamentals. The Ten Commandments are stoicheion. They are the elementary principles. And that's why in the book of Hebrews they say that you have need one teach you again the stoicheion, the ABCs, the ABCs.

See, Christianity is not the ABC, amen? The law is actually kindergarten, okay? Christianity is actually the apartment right on top, amen. It is progress all the way from a child to manhood, amen? So Paul says, "When we were children", when we were nepios, "we were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world," the ABCs of the law. "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons", amen? So, Jesus came. He was born under the law to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive sonship. Isn't it a funny thing that we have been redeemed from the law, and we're trying to go back under the law? No, we are now sons of God, amen? The ceremony has been done. In the moment you believe on Jesus Christ, we teach people like, you know, once you are born again, you are now a baby Christian, and you need to feed on the Word.

All that is true. In fact, the truth of growth in a subjective way, all right, is found in the book of 1 John, where it talks about little children, young men, and fathers, okay? That is progressive growth, okay? But here in the book of Galatians he's not talking about progressive growth. He's talking about your position. He's talking about your status have changed. You're once under the law. The Jews under the old covenant, amen, under the law, they were actually nepios, children. But the moment Jesus had come, and now the righteousness by faith has come, the moment they embrace that, that is the sonship ceremony. That is the time appointed by the Father, amen, the date set by the Father, and they become sons. Now, we think of adoption, unfortunately, the word adoption here is not in the original. If you look up the word, it's only one word, adoption as sons is literally the word huiothesia, and huios is the word the opposite of nepios. Nepios is a minor. Huios is a full-grown man, all right, a full-grown adult, a full-grown man, a man of maturity, amen.

So, the Bible says Jesus came so that we might become what? Receive our son placement, receive our placement as sons. Because we think of adoption as like we adopt someone who is not actually our flesh and blood. But sons of God, okay, we are not someone outside brought in, amen? In a sense, we were sinners, but then we died to what we were, and we are born again, amen? So, we are members of his flesh and of his bones, hallelujah. We are truly born again. It is a ceremony where Greeks adopt this as well as the Jewish people. They take their own son, flesh and blood, their own flesh and blood, and they have a ceremony making them sons. You are now a man. You are now a son, okay? So, that is justification by faith.

So, friend, we don't go back to our infancy. Paul says, "When I was a nepios. When I was a child, I spake as a child. I understood as a child. I thought as a child, but when I became an adult," he says, "I put away childish things," okay? It's interesting he mentioned speaking first, because children always speaks before they think, right? I speak first, you know, then thinking comes last. Understanding there is actually feeling, the word phronesis, that's feeling with your heart, amen? And making an opinion based on subjective emotions. But the word thought, where is logizomai, the logic part comes last for the child, right? So, Paul says, you know, "When I become an adult, and I can logic things".

See, children, they cannot see the far-reaching consequence of their behavior. They can't see. We tell them the reason we want you to study hard is because, you know? But at a certain age, when they are still a young child, they cannot see the consequence of their behavior now, and they only understand immediate gratification or immediate discipline. You know, they understand that. So, for a while we have to adopt some rules and regulations of the house, yes, when they are children, amen. But here Paul is not talking about spiritual growth. He's talking about once we were under the law. We were nepios. We were babes, babies, right?

Now we are sons, full grown sons. I hope you're getting this, amen? It's crucial, because it is what the big debate right now, all over the world, is that God bringing his people into sonship, amen, a realization of the sonship, because if you don't have this, you'll always operate out of a spirit of slavery, okay? Watch what he says here. "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" Abba! Father! Abba is literally transliterated from the Aramaic, or the Hebrew, Abba. Today you go to Israel, you'll find children are calling their fathers, and you'll find, you'll hear it everywhere, Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba. And I decided that, you know, when my son was born, because one day he's going to read this verse, and it will make more meaning to him if he calls me Abba. So I decided when my son was born, I will make him call me Abba, okay? We have a video here of my son calling me Abba.

Justin Prince: Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba, Abba.

Joseph Prince: Okay, well, praise the Lord. And you know, his first word was Abba, Abba, Abba. And it's easy, you know? But here Abba is not just Daddy. It's not just Father, but it's more than that. That's why the Holy Spirit left it, okay, as it is. Abba Father. He did not just put it, just Father, but Abba Father. In the most intimate sense, in the most close, familiar, homely feel, amen, of a family spirit, amen. Praise God, thank you, Jesus. And that's how God... you know, people feel scandalized when you say you call God Abba. And then they say, "God is the Almighty God," and he is. And they say that "God who knows all things, is omniscient," and he is. "And God should be reverenced," and he should. Okay, but above everything else, the name that Jesus came to reveal to us is the name Abba. In fact, in his high priestly prayer he says, "I have revealed unto them your name," he told the Father. "And that the love by which you loved me may be in them".

So, it's crucial that we understand the name Abba so that we can experience the love of God, "that the love by which you loved me may be in them". You see, and also in the book of Revelation, you will find that the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, they are protected by having the Father's name on their forehead. Think about that, on their forehead. A time when the mark of the beast is on the forehead of many people on earth, and on their arm as well, I can see how all these will finally go towards the end times, what's happening around the world today, the pandemic. People are now being programmed to accept something on their hand or on their forehead. Even right now, when you enter into a building and all that, what do they do? They will take your temperature, I guess somewhere in your forehead or on your hand, right? Now, this is not the mark of the beast. Don't worry. I'm talking about how the whole world is being programmed to go into the end times, but we won't be around for the end times. We'll be raptured, hallelujah. We're going to receive our glorified body, amen, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, amen. And that can happen any time. Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord Jesus, amen.

So, we see here very clearly the word Abba is the protection for us. If then in the book of Revelation, in the future, when the 144,000 Jewish evangelists have the name Father on their foreheads for protection, the Bible says for protection, then we today also have the name of Father on our foreheads, amen? That means we have a consciousness, a mentality of the Father. We look at God. We must have the Father mentality. Because friend, you cannot live a lie and expect the spirit of truth to confirm it. All right, we have answered prayer and all that. Many times we pray, and then we are praying, but we have a spirit of slavery. Notice that? You are sons. "God has sent the Spirit of his Son". We must pray in that spirit of a family prayer. Like, you know, you are so close to God. You are his son. You must pray like Father and son, and that's how you need to talk to your Father. You need to talk to God, not like God's so far away, but Father's so close. If not, the Bible says you are entertaining a vile spirit.

"So, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God". Go to Romans 8:15. "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear". I really believe this spirit of slavery is the mother of all fears. I really believe that. I believe that spirit of slavery is the mother of all fears. But the fear here refers primarily the wrong fear of God. The context bears it out. "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" So, the more you come to God, sometimes you don't have a prayer, but you just come to the Father, just for the Fatherly love and embrace. And just be conscious of that. You come to him and say, "Father, Father," and test yourself, whether you feel like God is, you know, so far away. No, sense, sense his nearness, and that is the spirit of a son. And God has sent that spirit into you. Don't fall back into the spirit of slavery, amen? It's a vile spirit, okay? Praise God.

Let's go back again to Galatians 4. Right now, we're going to go to something very interesting. Because like I said just now, you cannot come to God and feel like God is far away and address him, what you think is reverence, but it's a servile spirit, a spirit of slavery to fear again. You need to come to God. Because the Holy Spirit cannot bear witness with that. And that's why your prayers are not answered. Because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He cannot bear witness with a lie, and you are coming to God in a lie. You are no more a slave. You are a son, the more you act like God hears your every prayer. Oh, he loves to hear your voice. Oh, yes, amen, amen, amen. Jesus loves for you just to sit at his feet, not like a Martha, busy serving him. You know what? Your busy service for him, he can dispense with. But your company is what he will not be without, and he loves to have you in front of him.

In fact, in Song of Songs it says, "Let me see your face and let me hear your voice," he says. You know, the Lord loves to see your face. He loves to hear your voice. And every time you come to him, amen, you don't have to come to ask, ask always. You can just come to him and let him love you, amen? And sense that closeness, sense that Father's love for you, filling all the empty places of your heart, amen? And say, Abba, Abba, Abba, amen. And that is what the Holy Spirit can bear witness with. And I tell you this, when you do that, you'll find that that spirit of sonship will cast out fears, worries. Your Father is so close. What is there to worry about, amen? You know, this privilege is something that the Old Testament saints never had. They had that reverence, and God is far away, and they had to go through so many rituals before they can, you know, come to God. But for us it's like the tabernacle of David, not the tabernacle of Moses. We have an open veil, amen? We worship before the ark of the covenant. We worship God direct, amen?

And there's something else very interesting. In the book of Revelation, if you notice carefully, that only the redeemed, the 24 elders who are redeemed, representing all of us, right, only they are the ones who can address God as you, whereas angels cannot address God as you. They address God in the third person. They will say, "Worthy is the Lamb. Blessed be the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, who is to come". Now, we can also be praising God in that way, in the third person, no problem, but we have more than angels. Angels in the Bible never address God as you. Even when Michael rebuked the devil over the body of Moses, right, he said, "The Lord rebuke you". Okay, but we are the only ones that can address God as you. Look at the book of Revelation. Here it says, "Now when He had taken the scroll", Jesus took the scroll, "the four living creatures, and the twenty-four elders," that's the redeemed ones, "fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song".

Now, this "they" here are the 24 elders, not the living creatures. Because if you look at the words of what they're saying, the creatures cannot be saying this. This is what they said. "You are", notice, "You are worthy to take the scroll". It's in the second person. "And to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe". Now, living creatures cannot say, "You have redeemed us through God by Your blood". They were never redeemed. Angels were never redeemed, okay? The fallen angels are still unredeemed, okay? God redeemed only us. Praise God. And we are the only ones can say, "You have redeemed us by Your blood," amen, "out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth". Hallelujah. We shall reign on the earth, amen?

So, these are not the living creatures or any angel or any seraphim or cherubim that is declaring this. These are the 24 elders who can address God direct. But notice when the angels came in, "Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands". Notice that the elders are there as well, but because the angel's there, they cannot say you. Notice, "saying with a loud voice: 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power.'" Now, this is in the third person. "Worthy is the Lamb," amen? You know, there is a perfect order in royalty. Like, if you go to the palace, Buckingham Palace and all that, there is an order to everything, all right? How you approach the Queen, amen, how you need to be seated, when you need to sit, amen, when you need to be addressed, when addressed to.

You know, there's perfect order in royalty in the palace, likewise in the house of God. And you know who is the nearest to God? The redeemed, not the angels, the redeemed, amen? Even the angels, it's recorded for us, they actually speak of God, they praise God in the third person. We praise God, amen, in the second person direct, you. But we can also praise God, like joining them here, we also praise God in the third person. That's no problem. We have both, praise God. And "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, strength and honor and glory and blessing"! Hallelujah, hallelujah. "Then the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever". So, earlier on you find that the four living creatures fell down, together with the elders, right? But it was the elders who said, "You have redeemed us. You have redeemed us by your blood". The four living creatures can never say that. They are actually the seraphim of the book of Isaiah, all right? Isaiah saw. And we are the redeemed ones.

You know, friend, when you go through life, don't just ask someone for prayer. It's okay to ask somebody for prayer, but God will hear your prayer, amen? You need to have the boldness to come to God. Maybe you are dealing with a spirit of slavery. You don't even realize that you have a spirit of sonship in reality, but you are entertaining a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, okay? Friend, it's okay to ask people for prayer, but you know, have confidence that God will hear your prayer, the more you say "Father". Don't see God so far away. See a Father so near, yearning to hear your words, like he says in the Song of Songs. The Lord says, "I long to hear your voice. I long to hear your voice". He says, "Your lips", He praises the lips of the bride. You know, your words, amen, your, honey and milk are under your tongue. That's how the Lord sees us. He longs for our words more than we want to speak to him. If only we can see that reality, friend, amen?

In the shepherd's psalm, Psalms 23, it's a picture of the Lord Jesus. Psalms 22 is the suffering of Jesus. "O my God, my God, why have you forsaken me"? Right? It starts with that. And then Psalms 23 is through the death of Jesus, we are now living today in Psalms 23. Psalms 24, "Lift up you everlasting gates, and the King of Glory will enter". That's the second coming of Jesus Christ. So, we are now in Psalms 23. And in Psalms 23, it says, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want". I shall not lack, amen? Notice, all right, as we are going through what we call good times, right, we say, "He makes me to lie down in green pastures". What is that? He, in the third person. "He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake". So, it's like I'm talking, can you see it? It's like we are talking to someone about the Lord, so we are speaking of him in the third person. "He makes me lie down in green pastures". And friend, he leads me beside the waters of quietness, amen, waters of menuchah, the Bible says, quietness. "And he leads me in the paths of righteousness". "He restores my soul, and he leads me in the paths of righteousness".

By the way, these paths of righteousness, it's very interesting, because when you go to Israel, you look at some of the hills and the mountains and all that, they have like lines around them. Now, this is not done, some geographical, you know, movements of the earth or the winds or what... it is actually done by the sheep, the flock of many, in fact, even thousands of years in Israel, where the sheep would go around the paths of righteousness. We have a picture here. If you look below, don't look at the top where the sheep are, the flock is. Can you see all these lines here, all right? So, for many, many years, not only hundreds, but thousands of years in this land of Israel, you have sheep going around it, around it, and they can't go straight up. They can't go straight up, because it's too dangerous for them to go straight up, and they'll get discouraged, as well. So, what the shepherd does, the wise shepherd leads them in a circuitous, like in a circle, amen, like a winding stairs, all right. And the word there, magal in the Hebrew, is literally a circle, okay, a circle of righteousness, a circle.

So, he moves them in a circuitous movement, right, a circuitous route all the way, and the sheep don't even know he's making progress, as he trods the path of righteousness. The more we teach righteousness, that's why in all my series this time around, I'm actually bringing you along the paths of righteousness. Righteousness is not a verb. Righteousness is a noun. Righteousness is not something you do. Righteousness is something that you are, that God has made you to be, amen, when Jesus came. Praise the Lord.

And that's how we should teach our children also. You know, we tell them to do something, and we tell them, you know, this is what you need to do, and they look up, and they see the end from where they are is like a steep valley. But if the wise father, you know, the mother who is Spirit-filled will know to lead the child, amen, in a circuitous way, amen? Just slowly, just lead them, amen. And to lead them doesn't mean you don't discipline them, amen? You discipline them. You make sure that they stay on the paths of righteousness, but that's how they make progress. Sometimes they go through same old, they feel like they're going round and round, going nowhere, but actually they're making progress upwards. And finally, they reach all the green pastures right on top. Many of the mountains, the green pastures are actually right on top. It's closer to the winds and the dew and the rain.

So, friend, praise God, back to this again. Notice that as we are going through good times, we can afford to say he in the third person. But the next verse says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil". Now watch this. Yea, though I. Yea, though I. It doesn't mean that you purposely walk in it, but even if, "Yea, though I walk through"... Thank God we are walking through, not walking to stay in the valley of the shadow of death. So, sometimes for the Israeli shepherd and the flock, they will go through valleys where it is dark, and there could be pitfalls, especially as evening falls, and they are not back home yet. You know, it's dangerous, and that's why it's called the shadow of death. I was just telling my son the other day, you know, the shadow of a dog never bit anybody, amen? The shadow of anything bad cannot hurt you, amen? So, it's called the shadow of death, why? Jesus conquered death, amen?

So, for the flock, amen, it's only a shadow of death, an appearance, amen? But we're going through, and it's a dark time. It's not a good time. It's a dark time. It's a valley. There's pits of trials. And perhaps you are going through a valley right now. But notice what the shepherd does. He leads them. And something about the Israeli shepherd shepherding, okay? When it comes to night time, here's what I learned from a Israeli shepherd guy. And what happens is that when they lead, they lead from the front. They don't lead from the back. They lead from the front, and the sheep follow them, and the sheep know their voice, and the voice of a stranger, like Jesus says, they will not follow. And he will lead, and the sheep will follow him, and the sheep find security in looking at where he is.

Now, all these principles are going to apply for parenting, as well, amen? Set the example, set the way. Don't be saying something and expect your children to be doing something else. Don't be speaking, you know, profanities and all that and expect your child to speak well, amen? So, we lead the way, and they follow us, amen. But when it comes to nighttime, this is what happens. They say that when it comes to nighttime, they don't go by the front, neither do they go to the back. They go in the middle. So, the sheep is around them, and it's a very close-knit, you know, like at night, when it falls, and they're not back home yet, the shepherd will make sure that he's in the center. And that's why here the psalmist says, "I will fear no evil; for you are with me". He comes really close to them. "You are with me".

Do you know where the Lord is, especially when you're going through a trial? Closer to you than you think, amen? And he's there to carry you. He's there to provide for you. He's there to meet you at the point of your need, amen. And more than anything else, he's there to love you. And that's what the shepherd does. The shepherd makes sure that all of the sheep there, it's more for reassurance, you know, for the shepherd to be in the center, all right, during a dark period. He can't go to the front, lest the weak ones might slacken behind, and he looks back; it's dark. He can see. Okay, so he goes to the center. Amen. "So when I go through the valley of the shadow of death," the psalmist says, "I'll fear no evil, for you are with me".

Notice, during a dark period, "you are with me". It's no more "he". Friend, when you go through a dark season, know that he's closer than you can imagine. Amen. Don't run to someone to ask for prayer, because that sometimes, okay. You know, it's okay. You know, we have live chats that go on all the time, and people are asking for prayer all the time. We encourage them. Amen. Take advantage of their anointing, especially on the pastors and all that. That's no problem, but first and foremost: pray. Amen. And have a direct interaction with the Lord. Have a direct communion with the Lord. He loves it. He wants to hear your voice, and then you can ask others to pray as well, amen, but talk to the Lord.

Notice that the psalmist, during good times he says, "He makes me lie down. He leads me. He restores me". But when it comes to a dark season, amen, going through a trial could be a trial of sickness at this time in your life. Maybe, it's a trial of going through a season where there's not enough. But whatever it is, my friend, he's going to be there closer than your breath. Amen. And he's waiting for you to just talk to him during this time. You don't have to have perfect prayers and good prayers, you know. Just talk to him, "You are with me". Just tell him, "You with me, Lord. You are with me, Father. Amen. Lord Jesus, you are with me. You are my Shepherd. Amen". "I will not lack. I will not lack. I will not lack. In the future, there will be no lack because you are my Shepherd. I will not lack. Amen". So, notice you are addressing him directly, "You are with me". No more in the third person, "he," but in the second person, "you". Amen. "You are with me". And here it says, "Your rod," again, the second person, "and your staff, they comfort me".

Now, you know, when you study on shepherding, make sure you study on Jewish shepherding and the way they did it back then in Jesus's time. Because today, they're all kind of shepherding styles, okay? And during Jesus's time Jesus's time, they didn't use dogs either. Okay, so there are other shepherds. And one shepherd said that the way that they deal with, like a lamb that's always going astray is to break his legs and then you carry him. Now, my Bible never say, all right, "He makes me lie down. He breaketh my legs. He maketh me lie down in green pastures". No. No, it doesn't say that. "He restores my soul. He breaketh my legs". I don't find breaking legs anyway in this Psalm, do you?

So friend, make sure that these things don't creep in, amen, beyond the Word, okay? There's some traditions of some shepherds, just like in any other field or vocation. There's always different styles of doing things. But make sure that what you study is Israeli shepherding, amen, but also shepherding during the time of the Bible, amen, and how they do it. Praise God. Praise the name of Jesus. Amen. And the rod, someone says the rod is used to whack the sheep that is going astray. I don't see that also. Okay, you ask an Israeli shepherd, amen, the rod may be used to be thrown ahead of the sheep, so that he will not go into the ravine, to stop him from going to the ravine, but not aiming at him to paralyze him. No, the rod and the staff. The staff has a crook there at the end. What is it for? It's for sheep that fall. The fact that there's a crook down there that means the shepherd expects, the reason he carries the shepherd's staff is because he expect, and there's a crook there because he expects them to fall.

Now, I'm not encouraging you to fall. I'm just saying that the Lord knows you're going to fall here and there, but he's saying, "I have my shepherd's staff to hook around you, to carry you back to where you are. Even you fall from grace, I'm able to bring you back with my Shepherd's staff". But he doesn't use the rod and knock on you on the head and say, "Well, why do you fall? Why do you fall? Why didn't you learn your lesson and come here? I'm going to break your legs so that you learn not to go astray". No, no. He doesn't do that. Okay? He doesn't do that. Amen. The rod, by the way, is for the wolves. You ask any Israeli shepherd, the rod that they use... but again, today, even today in Israel, it's not exactly the same as the Bible times. But the rod that was used was used against the wolves and the lions. And there were wolves and lions in the land of Israel back in those days. And Israeli too, sometimes even to throw the rod at the direction of the wolf to scare him. All right, it's not meant for the flock. Amen. The staff is for the flock. Your rod and your staff in the second person. "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies".

By the way, you know what I found out recently? I found out that the word, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, the word there, k'neged before my enemies is k'neged. And k'neged means against. It means against. That means the Lord prepare a table. We always think of a table as being at home, eating with our families at a dinner table. No, in the Jewish mind, this is all pastoral background. It is still out there in the field. And what the shepherd does, he brings the flock to a flat table, a flat piece of, you know, like upcropping in a land where it's flat, so they can all be there to rest and to eat. And then, what he does is that he prepare a table. And this is what the Lord has in mind. You prepare a table before my face in the Hebrew, k'neged my enemies. Against my enemies. Now, what is that telling you? That is telling you that the table of the Lord today is what table? The Communion. Amen. The bread and the cup. And he prepares a table k'neged, the enemies. Against the enemies. Amen. Against the enemies. Praise God. You can ask any Jewish person today, what is the word k'neged? And they'll tell you. It is the word against.

Now, the table is against the enemies. Who fights with a table? But we do. Amen. It is the greatest weapon there is. Amen. So our enemies can be sickness, it can be depression, it can be addiction, it can be, you know, some sinful bondage that we are in. It can be anything that is your enemy coming against you, that the Lord says, "He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies". The wood presence there is unfortunate. It is not like they are looking at you, and you are eating. No, I used to think that way. All right, but the word k'neged changed everything. It's the word against my enemies. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. "Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me, follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever". There's one Psalm that unique to get your children to memorize, amen, and then you can share with them what I share with you today. Praise God.

So, friend, it is vital that we understand the difference of the Spirit because the Holy Spirit cannot bear witness with a spirit of slavery. You come to good on you say, "You know, God, I just want you to know that I need your help for this now". But you are coming... no, the words doesn't matter. It's a spirit. It's a spirit of slavery or the spirit of sonship, amen? Even before you come, you need to know that God is ready to receive you, and he's eager and yearning, amen, to hear your voice, to hear your voice, and to see your face. Like the book of Psalm says, "He longs to see". And then when you speak, right, you going to speak from, you know, perfect vernacular, and you know, your speech is free-flowing. And no, God is not looking for that. God looks at the heart. Even the cry, "Abba," is a prayer itself. Amen. You come to God and say, "Abba". Amen.

Friend, repossess that spirit of sonship. Repossess it in Jesus's name. Come to God. The next time you come to God, and you just say, "Father". Test yourself and see, "Am I speaking and sensing God is far away"? Now, don't go by your emotions. Emotions can lie to you. All right, just forget your emotions and just know the reality. When you come to God, "Do I see God as being so near, and he is my Father"? Amen. In all the studies of the names of God, it's wonderful a study. I teach on the names of God. But make sure they don't supersede and make you feel like studying the names of God is greater than knowing the name Father. Know the name that Jesus came to reveal. And the Jewish people in Jesus's day already knew the names Yahweh Nissi, Yahweh Shalom, Elohim. They know all this name. Yahweh Savor. They know all that names. Amen. The names of God or the compound names of God. They knew the names of God. But to know the name Father is something that Jesus came to reveal. And make sure when you come to God, just test yourself and ask yourself when you say, "Father," do I sense that God is so close enveloping me with his love? Amen. "And he stands ready to hear my prayer".

And friend, when you have that Spirit, and you repossess that Spirit of sonship, the Holy Spirit of truth will bear witness, and that means he's going to confirm it. And the Bible talks about confirming with signs and wonders even, amen. He will confirm it with answered prayer. He will bear witness in your spirit. And that's why when you pray, and you sense like God is far away, the Holy Spirit cannot confirm that because you're believing a lie, and you're acting out a lie. Okay? You might be sincere, but you're still living a lie. And when you live a lie, the spirit of truth cannot bear a witness with it. Okay? Praise the Lord. I hope this has blessed you in Jesus's name.

And I just see, you know, right now, people who are struggling with some addiction that they have. I see someone, you are addicted to sleeping tablets, and it's cost you more problems than answers. Okay, in fact, you are coming to a place where you are now needing more to sleep. And I said people because there is not just one person, quite a number of you who are watching me right now. You know who you are, and the Lord want to set you free. Okay, friend, even if you go for a cold turkey, the first night, the second night or whatever, do it. Do it, okay? Unless it's something that is specifically instructed in your particular case by the doctor. All right, friend, I'm here to tell you that this is not a good track to go in. Amen? He will make you to lie down in green pastures. It might be bad the first night, second night, whatever, but you will break through. Amen. Just see it as cold turkey. It's better to have three hours of natural sleep. When I say natural, it is blessed by God. Anyway, okay, then to depend on this medication. Okay, friend?

And I see God setting you free. You're not getting just natural help. You're getting supernatural help right now. He's imparting his supernatural grace in this area for you in Jesus's name, dictamen. It's going to be hard because of addiction, and because of addiction, in the days to come, you'll find every excuse. "No, no, I'll just take some. I'll just this". Don't. You've got to fight it, friend. You've got to fight it. Amen. And the Lord is with you, amen, and he will give you grace. The sleep that comes from on the other side will be so great, will be so sweet that you will appreciate, amen, what the Lord has done for you. Amen, praise the Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

I see a man; you're watching this right now. And then, just now, as you are watching this, you find that there was some pains in the center of your chest, amen. You need not worry because right now, the Lord is touching you and healing you in Jesus's name, and you don't have to worry what is the cost of it. You had some bad thoughts about the pain, but I'm telling you right now, the Lord is touching you, healing you and making you whole in Jesus's name, and the pain is gone in the name of Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Somebody else who is was watching just now, and you're right now having headache, a bad headache has been with you, in fact, the whole day. Even before you watch this, you've been having this headache. But you said you're going to push through and watch anyway. And you even said perhaps the Lord may give a Word about your condition. Yes, he is, and you are free right now in Jesus's name. And the headache goes in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise the name of Jesus.

Someone with a right shoulder blade condition, right, if I can see that it's right behind your shoulder blade. You can move your arm right now. You can move it with freedom. Move it right now in Jesus's name. The Lord is setting you free, hallelujah, in the name of Jesus. Yeah, move that arm in Jesus's name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Somebody hurt your ankle. Move the ankle right now in Jesus's name. Praise the name of Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

And someone has been having like you feel like your eyes; there's a film coming on your eyes often. And you try to remove it, and it comes on. The Lord is healing your eyes right now in Jesus's name. Amen. He's healing you. Every eye condition right now, receive it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Healing is the children's bread, and you are a child. Amen. Your Abba is giving you this children's bread right now. Eat it. Eat it. Bread is satisfaction. Eat it fully. Amen. Amen. Eat abundantly. Hallelujah. Amen. The children's bread. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord Jesus. And Father, in heaven, in the name of Jesus.

And right now, there's someone else; you found that you have a skin, I see the word lesions. I don't know exactly. I've not looked up that word, but lesion, I think about skin condition. Amen. The Lord is saying that you have this condition. And right now, amen, place your hand on that area. In the name of Jesus, you are healed. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, be free from it in Jesus's name, amen. Now, whatever condition you have right now, place your hand on that area, amen. Let me pray for you in the name of Jesus. Remember, you are a child of God. Amen. The title to your healing, amen. A slave may be working in the house, amen, but he can't go to the fridge and just take any food he wants. But a child can go anytime and pick whatever he wants, okay? The older he is, the more free he is, right? A child can be a small child, may have to ask the father, but there's freedom. There is movement.

The way you serve God, you know, as a child, okay, is different from the way you serve God as a son, right? A son that is the heir to a company, when he goes to work in that company, his father's company, it's a different spirit from those other employees. The other employees are clocking their time, but they don't have the same vision, the same spirit as a son. The son knows that he has a personal stake. He's concerned if the employees leave the air conditioning running, right. When they leave, he's concerned if they leave the lights on. You know, he has a concern. And because why? He has a different spirit from the employees of the father. Amen. He knows he'll be the heir of this company. He knows he will take over, and he comes as a son. So when we serve the Lord, we don't serve in the spirit of the Old Testament saints. We serve as a son. Amen. Praise the Lord Jesus.

Friend, if you've never received Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, amen, I want to pray for you in time. But those of you, if your hand's placed on you right now, in Jesus's name in that area of affliction, wherever you're having pain and all at, just place your hand right there. There's an anointing right now in the name of Jesus. The yoke, restoring anointing, has been released in the name of Jesus. And in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pronounce you healed from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord restore life, health to every cell of your body in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord renews your youth and strength like the eagles, in Jesus's name. Amen.

Please write to the office the moment you know, you confirm with the doctor, or you know for a fact that your body is free from that, write to us and let us know, amen. And if you have never received Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, now is the time to pray with me. All right, follow me in this prayer. See it from your heart. "Heavenly Father," you can call him Father now

Heavenly Father, thank you for your love for me, for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on that cross for my sins. And on the third day, you raised him from the dead, having put all my sins away through his blood. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior. He is my shepherd, the Good Shepherd that watches over me. He makes me lie down in green pastures. And from this day forth, he's going to lead me in the paths of righteousness. Thank you, Father. Teach me to respond to his voice and the voice of a stranger I will not follow. Jesus Christ is my Lord, in Jesus's name, amen. Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord.

Friend, if you prayed that prayer, amen, you are now a child of God. All things are passed away. All things have become new. Amen. Welcome to the family of God, in New Creation Church. Praise the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Friend, stand to your feet if you can for this blessing. We never take this blessing for granted. Recently, one of our deacons nearly got into an accident. He sent me the video of his dash cam. His camera picked up when he was driving behind a truck, and the door of the truck just opened just before he was there. And because he was going, the Lord placed him at the right place at the right time, he didn't meet the accident. And you know, it all goes to show that you need to be at the right place at the right time. With all of our smarts, with all our, you know, wealth, all right, we cannot put ourselves at the right place at the right time. Okay, friend? You need God for that. Amen. And the Father will take care of you, and your Shepherd will lead you. Amen. So lift up your hands all across this place for this coming week.

The Lord bless you, and the Lord keep you. The Lord bless you with the blessings of Father Abraham, and the Lord keep you and your families throughout this week from the COVID-19 virus, from every infection, from every disease, from every danger, harm, accident, from all the power of the evil one. The Lord make his face shine upon you and your families throughout this week. Amen. Doors of favor will open up to you. And the Lord lift up his countenance on you and run to you and your families his Shalom peace, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.