Joseph Prince - Praise Opens The Door To Grace

Okay. Praise God. Are you ready for the Word? Meditate for a life of fruitfulness. In Psalms 1, verse 2 and 3, "His delight is in the law of the Lord". Law here is instruction. Torah. The law. The Lord is always the entire teaching of the Lord, which is the Word of God. "And in his law doth he meditate". Matta. The Hebrew word "hagah" "Day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water". How many of you want this? "That brings forth his fruit in his season". How many of you want this? "His leaf also shall not wither". Your health will not wither. You will not grow old. How many of you want this? "And whatever he doeth shall prosper". How many of you want this?

So you have health, you have prosperity, amen. You have fruitfulness. It all comes by doing just one thing: meditate. Hagah. Say, "Hagah". The word "hagah" means to utter or to mutter, to speak with oneself, murmuring and in low voice as often done. Now, this is not the only exhaustive meaning of hagah. All right, the Jewish people actually say the way you do, hagah, it's not just you see them muttering. You find them swaying to and fro when they read their Bible. Have you seen that? All right, another thing they do is that they sing. You know, they are actually reading, all right, by singing. Have you seen that before? So hagah, includes what? Singing under your breath.

I want to tell you another way of meditating, which may flow with many of you, and it's a powerful, powerful thing you can do because the benefits are just awesome. All right, the Bible says when you sing to yourself, some things begin to take place. Look at Ephesians 5, verse 15 to 22. God says, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise". What does he mean in this context, "To walk as wise"? "Redeeming the time because the days are evil". When we look around us, we see a lot of bad things happening, all right. In that sense, the days out there in the world are evil days. So, the thing is this, all right, we need to redeem the time.

Have you noticed that at least I noticed just I preach on Sunday, and then next thing you know, Sunday comes again? All right. I thought Monday would be slow; I can relax and enjoy Monday. Before you know it, Tuesday is there, and I'm busy doing something else. And Wednesday comes, and I'm busy doing something else, all right. And before you know, it's Sunday again. That day, my wife and I were talking, and we are saying, "Time is just flying". We need to buy back time. We need to redeem the time. How can we redeem the time? You know, the saying, time is money, that's true. You are not getting any older, New Creation Church. Because God renews your youth like the eagles, but we need to redeem the time. Can I have a good amen? We need to buy back the time. And how do you do it? The next verse, "Therefore do not be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is". "Understand what the will of the Lord is".

We all want to know what the will of the Lord is. We are all caught in certain conundrum, certain dilemma. We do not know what and how to decide. There are people who look at a situation, and they have the wisdom, almost immediately, even without praying. They already done their prayer already, all right, for this wisdom. And they look at a situation, and they are able to see the solution. And then others will look at the same, same, same scenario, and they can't get anything out of it. "Pastor Prince, why is it that some people are able to step into a situation and straight away, they're able to zero in on what to do"? "They're able to come in because they meditate". "What do you mean, pastor"? "They meditate. They are people who meditate". But the way they meditate is like this, "Do not be drunk". And it's all one passage. "And do not". And ties it with the previous verses. "And do not be drunk with wine," all right? Don't be intoxicated with wine, he's saying. But you can be intoxicated but look at what you can be intoxicated with. "But be filled with the Spirit". "Do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation," or excess, "but be filled with the Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit".

Now, I know that many people have different ideas about being filled with the Spirit, but I'm just going to read the passage and see what the Word of God tells us, all right, what the Spirit of God is telling us. "Be filled with the Spirit," here in the Greek, all right, is in the present passive imperative. Now we all know imperative means what? It's a command. It's not up for negotiation. So being filled, that's how you're saying. Passive, you're not passive, right? Passive means you're not the one doing it. If you are the one doing it, it should be active. It's being done to you; that means it is passive. So being filled with the Spirit is not you, all right, actively filling yourself, but God is filling you. God is filling you as you do something. You're not doing the feeling. You're doing something else. I'll show you what you're doing. God is filling you as you doing something, and God is saying you are being filled. And this is not optional. It's the life of every believer. Okay?

Now, what do you do, comma, and of this being "filled with the Spirit," there's a comma, "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord". Now, this is what I want to bring across, that just, even you cannot sing, you hum a tune. Make melody in your heart, all right. There's a tune going on, you... You know you do not know what the words are, so you go... Amen. And you know what? It will put you in the right perspective; it will give you wisdom because you are being filled. Filled. Be, being filled with the Spirit, and you're no more unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is because you are being filled with the Spirit. What an easy thing God has done for us, and you are meditating on the words, "Love lifted me". Do you know you are hagah? You are meditating and feeding on the words, "Love lifted me". Amen.

Old King James says, "Speaking to yourselves. Speaking to yourselves". All right, "Speaking to yourselves". It's to yourselves. Now, in Colossians, "Speak to one another". That's the counterpart, "But speak to yourselves". "But Pastor Prince, I can't sing. Have you heard me sing or not"? That's why it says, "Speaking". Speaking psalms. Speaking hymns. Speaking spiritual songs. And what happen is that you may sing and make melody in your heart; not only are you being filled with the Spirit, and you are being filled with the Spirit of wisdom. Intuition becomes alive. You just know what to do. You cannot explain to other people. You can't teach it to other people. You just know that you know that you know. Amen?

Another thing that happens that, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," you become thankful. "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord". Now, all this is the fruit of being filled with the Spirit. When you're singing, it's easier to submit. When you're singing... by the way, I put down wives to show you that before the exultation comes to marriage partners, okay, wives submit, husbands love, it tells you to be filled with the Spirit. You know why the church not submitting to one another and all that? Why is there so much strife, envy, jealousy? It's because we're not focused on the Lord Jesus. How do you get focused on the Lord Jesus? By singing to him. That's the best way. Okay? Are you with me?

Now, there are many words for praise in the Bible. There's hallal. Say, "Hallal". H-A-L-L-A-L. That's where we get hallelujah. Another beautiful I want to call your attention to is the word "yadah". Say, "Yadah". The word "praise the Lord" yadah. The first time it was used is in the story of Leah. Jacob had two wives and many porcupines. Okay, concubines. The wife servants. And shall we say that Leah loved Jacob, but Jacob loved Rachel, the other wife. Leah always wanted the husband's love and never got it. She did all kinds of things she knew how to get the husband's love and never got it. The husband, although the husband was a husband to her, took care of her, all right, produced children by her, his heart was with Rachel, all right.

So let's follow the story in Genesis. Genesis 29, "When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said"... Now, listen to the reason why she named Rueben. The names are inspired, but the reason are so homely. So daily. Said, "The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now, therefore, my husband will love me". Can you hear her cry? All she wants is for her husband to love her. She thought by producing a son, her husband will love her. It's like a Chinese drama, but the husband did not love her even though she bore him the firstborn Rueben. All right? "Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, 'Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, he has therefore given me this son also.'"

All right, again, she's talking about herself. "I am unloved," in terms of her husband not loving her. She's focused on her husband, "My husband don't love me. I'll do this. I have the son, and my husband will love me". She had another son called Simeon, all right, "Because the Lord has heard," Rueben means the Lord has seen my affliction because Rueben, see the son. God is referring to the son, but she was seeing her circumstance. Simeon means listen to the son, all right, listen. But she's saying, "The Lord has listened to my complaint, my affliction", all right? That's the second son. Third son, "She conceived again and bore a son, and said, 'Now this time my husband will become attached to me," because the name attached is the name Levi. "Because I have borne him three sons. Therefore his name was called Levi," or you would say Levi.

All right, in Hebrew, levi means attached. You see, again, her heart is what? "Now, my husband will become attached to me". We do not know how long this woman persisted for her husband's love? But maybe you're in a situation, you are persisting for some fruit in your life, for some result, and you've been disappointed. All right, listen to what changed Leah. "And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, 'Now I will praise the Lord.'" No husband. Nothing. "Whether he loves me, he don't love me. I'm going to praise the Lord". And the word "praise" is yadah, and that's why from yadah, you get the word "Judah". "Therefore, she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing". Because why? Later on, she bore again, okay. She bore other sons later. But at this moment, she stopped bearing. Why? She's not out to impress the husband no more. Her own fulfillment is more important.

Let me tell you this, all right, women, don't make your happiness or your fulfillments go around your husband. Love the man, okay, but make sure you love the man, Jesus. And make your happiness revolve around Jesus. And then, the thing is that you won't draw from your husband, the very things that only Jesus can really satisfy you with. So she called the boy's name Yehudah in Hebrew. Judah. Jesus came from the tribe of Judah. Very good. Jesus came from the tribe of Judah. Now Judah is praise there. Yadah. Praise. "Therefore, she called his name Judah". Yadah is spelled like this okay, yud, dalet, hei. Hebrew reads from right to left. And the Hebrew letters has a pictogram. It's a pictogram. It's a picture, okay. So yud, reading from right to left, yud is the hand. Say, "Hand".

In fact, today, they would say, "Yud. Yud. Hand," in Hebrew. Yud. Center letter is dalet. Dalet is door. Door. Picture of a door. The fourth letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Alef, Bet, Gibel, Dalet. All right, dalet is the door. What's the fifth letter? Hei. All right, hei. Yud, dalet, hei. So you read it, yadah. This spells praise. From where? Yehudah. Judas, the name came from. Read carefully, and there's a mystery. I think many of you will see the mystery already. Hand opened the door of grace. Hand opening the door of grace. Every time you praise, you open the door of grace.

Jesus, in Revelation 3:20, said, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door," what is going to happen? "I will come in, and I'll eat with him and he with me". Do you see that? "I will come in. Eat with him, and he with me". So Jesus says, "I stand at the door and knock". If any man open, grace is coming in. And what opens the door? Praise. The whole thing spells yadah. Yud, dalet, hei. Yadah means praise from where you get Yahudah. Go back again to the verse. You find, she says, "I'll praise the Lord". Now she's no more focused on her husband, praise God.

And how many of you know that when you're not focused on the problem, sometimes it's amazing how the very thing you're running for will come after you. When she died, all right; later on, the husband died. When the husband died, Jacob died, Jacob never asked to be buried with Rachel. Jacob asked to be buried with Leah. Somewhere along the way, he also fell in love with Leah. When Leah is not looking for it when she's looking at Jesus. Look at Jesus, and your dreams will come true. Amen. "I'll praise the Lord. Therefore, she called his name Yehudah".

Now Yehudah is from yadah, okay. Look at Yehudah. Look at Yehudah. Yud, hei, vav, dalet hei. When I saw this, my goodness, I was so beside myself. Because I'll let you see something, you know. Y'all see something, you know. I said something just now, "Yud, hei, vav, dalet, hei". There is something there. I'll say it again, "Yud, hei, vav, dalet, hei". Come on. "We're singing to Yahweh. Yahweh". How do you spell Yahweh? You remove the dalet. Dalet, okay? Now, that is Yehudah. That is Judah. Let's say we remove the dalet. Remove dalet, put this together, you have yud, hei, vav, hei, the name of the Lord.

Now, I told you just now, dalet, the pictogram, the picture of dalet is door. Say it, "Door". Who do you think is the door to Yahweh? Say it. Jesus. Oh, you are not sure. John 10, please. Let's read verse 9. "I am the door," Jesus said. All right? "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, kill, destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly". Where do you find this life more abundant? Where do you find these green pastures? Through the door. There's only one door. His name is Jesus.

When I saw that, I was so excited. I said, "that man, I'm telling you". And already, already our church was moving into praise and worship. Have you noticed that this year? We are moving stronger into praise and worship, and God is teaching me all these things. And I saw Yehudah, the door to God. All right, Yehudah. Only with the door there. He's a door to God, but also when you praise, all right, when you praise God, it's a door to God. Remember, "If any man enter in and out". It goes both ways. Jesus says, "I am the door, the door to God, and I'm the door to anything that you're looking for". And God sets a door before you.

In fact, in Hosea, God says of Israel, "I will give her, her vineyards from there and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope". Achor means trouble. It's valley of trouble, literally. God is saying to you today, are you in a valley of trouble? If you're in a valley of trouble, all right, I will give you a door of hope. There is a door of hope. In every valley of trouble, there's a door of hope. Look for it. You know, how you find the door? Very simple, "She shall sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land". Oh, praise God.

God just spoke to me. That's why I'm bringing this church back to the days when you are singing to me in your youth. We are going back to sing to the Lord, even songs we had learned in our youth. Amen. Praise God. And you know what's going to happen? In every valley of trouble, there's going to be a door of hope. "And she shall sing that. She shall sing that. He shall sing that. I shall sing that". Amen. Sing where? There, in the valley of trouble. And then God has a door of hope. What's hope? A positive expectation of the future. Praise God. Every time Israel moves, you know which tribe goes out first? Judah. Very good.

Judges 1, "After the death of Joshua, it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord saying, 'Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?' And the Lord said, 'Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand". God promised that if you will... every challenge that come, every time an enemy comes, Judah goes up first. You know, based on rabbinical writings, all right, they say the Jewish rabbi says that it was the tribe of Judah that Captain Nahshon, who went into the Red Sea first, you know, the Red Sea. Right. Moses's time. Nahshon, the captain of Judah, rode his horse until the water was at the nose of the horse, the nostrils of the horse when God opened up the sea. He went in by faith. Sounds like God. So he was the captain. Nahshon was the captain of Judah. All right, he was the first to go in. And whenever there's an enemy that attacks them, and they ask God, God always says, "Judah shall go up first".

What is Judah? Praise. Every problem that comes your way, praise goes up first. Amen. Start singing praises. You feel lonely, sing praises. You feel down sing praises. You feel under the weather, sing praises. Amen. I guarantee you, if you're not healed, you'll be in a position and in emotional prosperity to be healed, and the outward will follow, amen. Praise God. Are you with me? "But Pastor Prince, I need money, leh. I got financial problem". So I close with this, all right. There's a prophecy, and we'll close with this. In Isaiah 60, "Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you".

Some people say this is a millennium. But look at next at the next verse, "Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth". During the millennium, there's no darkness covering the earth, all right. Talking about the end times. "Darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people". Not you, the people. Looks like it's our time. When the church shines, there's darkness in the world. Right? "But the Lord will arise over you". Now, you are not "the people". "Darkness covers the people, but the Lord arise on you". "And his glory will be seen upon you. The gentiles will come to your light, kings to the brightness of your rising". Next. "Therefore, your gates shall be open continually". Now, all of a sudden, talking about gates. "Your gates shall be opened continually". Say, "Continually". "They shall not be shut, day or night". Why? "That men may bring to you the wealth of the gentiles and their kings in procession". VIPs. God says, "If your gates are open, the wealth of the unbelievers is going to come in".

So what are these gates? Drop down, same chapter, drop down. Last two lines, "You shall call your walls Salvation". Salvation there is literally in Hebrew Yeshua. His name is Jesus. "And your gates Praise". Your gates praise. Go back again to verse 11, "Therefore, your gates shall be open continually". Why? "They shall not be shut day or night," Why? "That men may bring to you the wealth of the gentiles". You mean just by going, "Praise the Lord. I sing praises to your name, O Lord", you become rich. Sounds like it, but don't do it for that, all right? Don't, "I sing praises to your name, your name. I sing praises to your name, your name". All right? The Lord knows when you're playing, all right. Forget about wealth. Forget about everything else. He's our true wealth. Amen. Come on, give him praise, church. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord.