Joseph Prince - God Is For You Today
Today I want to share with you something that will help you release your faith in the area of knowing that God is for you during these volatile times. All right, are you ready for the Word? All right, praise God. Let's go right into the Word of God. And I want to share with you something that I believe is gonna help you believe God is on your side. Why must we believe God is on our side? Because the thing is this, a lot of erroneous teachings have caused people to have a wrong belief system. In other words, people are believing like this. Many believers today, because of their wrong belief, they proceed from a posture of I'm not right with God, okay? I want to be right with God. I want to be holy. I want to be right with God.
So that, why you want to be right with God? So that God is on my side. Why do you want God on your side? Because we are living in perilous times. I understand all that, but you're proceeding from a wrong foundation. That's why holiness that proceeds from a wrong foundation becomes pseudo holiness. It's not real holiness. All right, there are people who live an outward life of so-called holiness. They are quite masochistic when it comes to their, you know, they are very ascetic, all right? But they don't have love, joy, and peace. They look like Pharisees baptized in tom yum juice, baptized in lemonade. They look so grumpy, and they are so angry, and they're always finger pointing people. And that's not holiness. Holiness is love, joy, peace. Those three must be the first, because this is the first fruit of the Spirit, of the Holy Spirit, amen, love, joy, peace.
So, whatever it is if your holiness doesn't give you love joy, peace, but grumpiness towards people and depression instead of joy and restlessness and stress instead of peace, something is wrong. You have pseudo holiness, amen. So, we are for true holiness. Can I have a good amen? So, the thing is this, never, never, never judge your performance, okay, I should say it this way. Never judge your standing by your performance. Judge your performance by your standing. What is your standing before God today? Righteousness. It's a gift. Through the suffering, the blood and the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, God now has a righteous foundation to give sinful men a gift that was paid for by the blood of his beloved, darling Son, and that gift is righteousness, amen? Have you received that gift? Well, if you have received that gift, you have right standing. That gift irrevocable. It is irresistible. It is irreversible. Okay, that gift is yours now and forever, amen. So, you have right standing with God, eternal right standing. In Daniel's prophecy, Jesus came to bring in everlasting righteousness. So, this is everlasting righteousness.
Now, you have a standing, all right? Now, your performance sometimes can be right, can be wrong. Even in one day can be right and wrong, but never judge your standing by your performance. Always judge your performance by your standing. Can I have a good amen? All right, in that way, there'll be true holiness. All right, so the thing is this, what you're about to see, a passage of Scripture, all right. Actually, I used this passage of Scripture when I expounded on 1 John 1:9 in the month of June. I'm gonna use that same chapter 1 of 1 John to show you another abused and misapplied Scripture that has brought people into bondage. What is my burden? What is my concern? I'm concerned about people are not knowing that they are truly walking in the light, truly there's nothing between them and God, so that they have the confidence that God is with them, so that they can face life knowing they are not alone, amen. If the banker is not with them, God is. Even bankers are failing, my friend, but God never fails.
So, chapter 1 of 1 John verse 5 onwards. We're not reading from verse 1 notice, but verse 1 real quick tell you that he's not writing to Christians or to believers. People have a problem with that. They say that all New Testament letters are written to Christians. And I say an emphatic yes. They are all written to Christians, but in every letter, or a lot of letters rather, you will see there are portions in the letters. Even though the mainstay is for believers, there are times when the writer stopped and addressed unbelievers. Just like a preacher, sometimes, you know, I am preaching to believers all the time, but there are times I stop and I address unbelievers in the crowd, because they're always there. Do you understand, people? So, the same thing for the letters in the New Testament. They are written for the believer, yes, but there are portions in it where the writer stops, just like a preacher does and address the unbelievers.
In Romans chapter 10, how many agree the Book of Romans is written to believers? In chapter 1 it says, "To all those in Rome called saints". You know, you and I, we are saints. You're a living saint. Isn't that cool? Turn to your neighbor, introduce yourself by the name saint. Come on, you're a saint. You're a sanctified one. You're a set-apart one. You have been set apart unto God. You are like a fine china tea set, amen, expensive, kept in a special place because you are expensive. You are valuable. You're a saint. So, all the letters that Paul always opens up in chapter 1 are the letters he writes. Whether it's the church of Ephesus, he will write, "To all the saints in Ephesus". Colossians, "To all the saints in Colossae," okay? So, Rome to all the saints, all those called saints. Yet, even though the Book of Romans is written to saints, in Romans chapter 10 we have this verse 9 that says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus," what's gonna happen the last part? "You will be saved".
Now, who is he talking to? Just like what I said. Sometimes Paul even, while addressing the saints, addressing the believers, he stops, all right, for a few verses, and he addressed the unbelievers to show them how they can be saved. Being saved is so simple. It is so near your mouth and your heart. If you say with your mouth Jesus is your Lord, believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved, amen. It's so simple, all right? But this verse is not addressed to Christians, because you don't tell Christians you will be. Huh, okay? Are you with me? You know, you are having a Bible school here. Whether you realize it or not, you are having some great Bible schooling here. And you understand some things that even Bible students from seminaries may not understand. Some of them are still struggling with some of these things, but we thank God we have the Holy Spirit, okay? God will never surrender, all right, the Bible only to the intellect and the high IQs of some, never. God is a fair God. He's a good God. All right, he reveals his Word to people who are humble, who are teachable and fully depend on his Holy Spirit. And all the people said? Amen.
1 John again. "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all". And if you notice in 1 John where verse 9, "If we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us," appears, you'll find that you don't find the phrase "My little children". Yes, you find this in chapter 2, chapter 3, all right, the rest of 1 John, but you don't find this in chapter 1 of 1 John. Some people argue that because John used the phrase, "My little children," all right, he's writing to believers. I agree, but he did not write to believers in the first chapter. In the first chapter of 1 John even verse 1 he does not say, "To all the saints". In fact he says, "That which we have seen and our hands have handled, and we have touched the Word of life we declare to you that you may have koinonia with us, with us believers. You may have fellowship with us". Are you with me?
Okay, so what happened was that John is writing to Jewish people, because he's one of Peter, James, and John, right? So, he's writing to Jewish people, primarily believing Jews. But among the believing Jews, there was some Gnostic Jews. What is Gnostic, Gnosticism? Today modern-day Gnosticism is actually Christian science. You know the movie "Matrix" is based on Gnosticism, okay? Gnostics tell us the material world is not real, so there's no such thing as the material world is just evil, all right, it's not the real world, therefore there's no material girl. No, I'm just teasing, okay. But so they say that Jesus Christ cannot come in the flesh as a man, why? Because everything material is evil. They teach that. So, they teach that Jesus Christ was not incarnate. And that's why in 1 John, John writes, "This is how you know every spirit that comes from God. Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ came in the flesh is of God, and those who confess otherwise is not of God". He's combating what? The heresy of gnosticism.
Gnostics says we have no sin. There is no sin problem. Hence in 1 John, if we admit we have sin, all right, in other words we confess we have sin, then God is able to forgive us. But you say there's no sin, you make God a liar. All this in chapter 1 of 1 John. We are talking about, is 1 John 1:9 written to believers? I answered that question already. Today I'm gonna answer the question of walking in the light, all right? There's gonna be a powerful truth here that will set you free, okay? Why must you be set free from this error? Because you must have the confidence beyond the shadow of any doubt that God is with you during these times, amen. If God is with you, you know God will pull you through. God will be with you to comfort you, to strengthen you, and to give you grace and favor, as well as miracles, man. Hallelujah. And the Bible says, "This is the message we heard from Him and declare that God is light, in Him is no darkness at all".
So, the first part of 1 John defines God as God is light. The second half of 1 John defines God as God is love. God is two things. God is light, God is love. In the old Hebrew, the high priest had this in his breastplate, lights and perfections, okay? God is light, God is love, okay? All right, "If we say that we have fellowship with God, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth". Now, that's what the Gnostics are saying. They're saying, "Oh, we have fellowship with God," okay? But they're walking in darkness. They are lying. Now, you understand John is using the editorial we. John is not saying he's a liar. John is using what we all the editorial we to include we, we. Like you want to be nice to people, right? You want to correct your staff, for example, and you say things like, "Look, guys, if we don't have a spirit of excellence, how can you expect other people to have a spirit of excellence"?
Now, is the boss saying, "I don't have a spirit of excellence"? But the boss used the editorial we, if we. It's a nice way to correct people. We correct our children like that. If we are unkind to people, you expect people to be kind to us? You say if we, all right? Does that mean the Father is not? You understand people, okay? I know your minds is receiving all this. I can see by the intelligent look on your face, the intelligent look. Okay, praise God. All right, "But if we walk in the light as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin". How many want that last part, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin? And the word from all sin is actually the word from every sin. It's the Greek word pas, P-A-S, which actually means every item of sin. Oh, isn't that powerful? It's not just all. There's another word for all in the Greek, but it's every type of sin, every sin the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from, amen? But here's the catch. If we walk in the light.
Now, here is where the error of this verse comes in that I've heard many times. All right, this verse has been abused. People say it like this, and I've heard it, I'm sure you have heard it also. Now, folks, if we walk according to the light that God has given us, wrong. That's not what it's teaching. Or what it means if we walk according to the light that God has given us means if we walk according to the knowledge that we have, what we have learned, right? All right, we use that so loosely. All right like, for example, we paraphrase this verse by saying in error, if we walk in the light we say, "You know, if we walk up to the light regarding our duties, our responsibilities," that's what we mean. Many times you hear it teached like that, or taught like that. "If we walk according to the light that we have received. If we walk up to the light that we have received".
It's error. It's not talking about your walk in terms of your behavior. It's talking about your walk in terms of the realm, the kingdom you are in. It is not about how you are walking. It's about where you are walking. It says here if we walk in the light, see the word in the light? The word "in" in the Greek is the word en. It is the Greek word E-N, en, which is in, all right? But a lot of people want to change this to right behavior, wrong behavior. In other words, if we are walking up to the knowledge of the light that we have received. In other words, our idea of light is information and knowledge, and we must walk according to that light. That is not what... I understand your expression, but you cannot say that this verse means that. This verse does not mean that in any shape, form, or fashion. This verse is talking not about how, but about where you are walking. Are you with me? Are you walking in the light, or are you walking in darkness?
And you will see that every believer is walking in the light. Every unbeliever is walking in darkness. Anyway, does anyone stop and think if we translate that as right behavior, if we walk according to the light that we have received as God is in the light, wow. As means just as God is. That's a big responsibility to chew on. Up to even if God is walking in that way, it's not talking about that. It's talking about where God lives, that's where we are if you're a believer, okay? Next thing you must know is this, some people teach, like I said just now, that instead of saying we walk in the light, they say you must learn to walk up to the light that you have received, or walk according to the light, same expression.
Now, if that is true, you're saying that those who walk... again, you go back to behavior. If behavior is the main focus here. In other words, you are saying as long you don't sin, all right, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin. Now, you stop and think. So many of you got it already. See, you're saying that if you are saying it's behavior, then as long as you don't sin, to them that's walking in the light. As long as you don't sin, then the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin. So, even that itself, you know, when you come to church, you don't throw your reason away, all right, amen? You stop for a while and ask yourself, something is wrong here. So, what is wrong, what is wrong? The way we interpret it, okay? Now, watch me now, okay? Let's say you're walking, you're walking. We even have a song, walk, walk, walk.
♪ Walk, walk, walk, walk in the light ♪
♪ Walk, walk, walk, walk in the light ♪
♪ Walk, walk, walk, walk in the light ♪
♪ Walking in the light of God ♪
♪ Walking in the sunlight ♪
♪ Walking in the moonlight ♪
♪ Walking in... ♪
You know that song, all right? And I sang that in my youth fellowship years ago and no one understand what it means. Anyway, so here we go. I should face you like this. Let's say I'm walking... what they're teaching is like this, you're walking in the light, as long you don't sin. The moment you sin, you're walking in darkness. Until you confess, you go back into light, all right? Then if you sin, you go back into darkness, amen? You should see the legwork, man. Camera, you are on the wrong footing. Okay, one more time. All right, let's say you're walking in the light, all right, when you sin, you are walking in darkness, another realm, all right? When you confess you go back in the light, amen? You know, so this straight here is the... and that's how I always thought it was, okay, walking straight in the light. When you sin you are in darkness, all right, until you confess, you go back in the light. And this can happen in one day. Bam-boom-bam-boom. Bounce in and out of fellowship.
So, the thing is this. The thing is this, my Bible says even with that reasoning, let's say you reason that way, as long you don't sin, you are in the light, all right? But the Bible tells us the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin. You cannot be in this area because the moment you sin, the blood cleanses you when you are walking in the light. So, even that doesn't make sense. Folks, the answer is very simple. He's not talking about behavior here. Is behavior important? Yes. Behavior is important to glorify Jesus. You know, as believers, our behavior must be such that when people look at us, they see us uncommon. They see our marriages uncommon. The way we handle finances uncommon. They look at us, and we are stress free, it's uncommon. They see us, and we look younger than they look, uncommon. They see us happier when the world around us is crumbling, uncommon, amen. They look at you they realize you are uncommon. That's holy. That's the word holy, amen? So, we want to be holy for the glory of God, but this has got nothing to do, as what we shared just now in terms of holiness. This got nothing to touch on holiness. All right, it produces holiness, but walking in the light has got everything to do with where we are today. We are all in the light, if you are saved, if you are a believer.
All right, 1 Thessalonians 5:5, "You are all sons of light and sons of the day". We are not of the night. There's a song that goes "Children of the night", you know? You know that, anyway, it came to my mind. Well, we are not children of the night. We are children of the day. We are children of the light. You are all sons of light, all sons of light. Hey, Paul, how can you say every believer, all of them? Don't tell me there's not a believer in Thessalonica that is not a complete believer, you know that kind of thing, an all-out believer. I'm sure there are believers who are not walking up to the fullness of what they know among the Christians in Thessalonica, right? And yet he tells them all what? "You are all sons of light, all of you". In other words, he has the confidence, pure and unequivocal, that if you are a child of God, you are in the light and you're walking in the light. Your hear me? You are in the light. The light that once upon a time you were scared of because of your sins, all right, now you see, the thing is this.
When the high-definition camera came out, all right, many people got frightened, speakers on stage, because it's very unforgiving. Every mole, every wrinkle, everything is exposed full and in color. You know, people are frightened to appear under lights, the TV lights, and then on high-def camera especially, amen? But if you know there's nothing to hide, nothing to defend, you can look in the camera and say, "Lay it on me, man". Now, what I'm trying to say is this, today the light we are afraid of, we can step into the light, amen, and stand there, not because we are sinless, but because we can demonstrate the fullness of the work of Jesus in removing all our sins. Are you listening? Are you listening, people?
You know, Jesus, when he was confronted with the adulteress, they threw her right in the middle of Jesus's teaching in the court, the temple courtyard. Many of you have been to the temple courtyard, you don't even realize it. All right, it's where the colonnades were at one time, near the marketplace, okay, outside the marketplace. But the colonnades is where the rabbis would teach. And Jesus was teaching there and they threw a woman there, and they said, "We caught this woman in adultery. What do you say? Shall we stone her? Moses said you must stone her". And you heard me share this many times already. If Jesus had said don't stone her, they will claim that he broke Moses's law. If he says stone her, whatever happened to his teaching of grace and love? So, they thought they had him both ways. And then Jesus says, the Bible says he stooped down and wrote on the ground. So, this is what happened in the picture, all right? He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
Now, notice that we have made him write on stone, because you know why? He didn't write on earthly ground. If you go to the place where Jesus was teaching, all right, in the courtyards of the temple, it is all stony ground. It's not earth ground. So, in other words when he stooped down, he wrote with his finger on stone like this. Does that demonstrate something? The first time a finger writing on stone is God writing the Ten Commandments. So, Jesus is telling the Pharisees, "You are telling me about the law when I am the one who gave the law". So by writing, he's demonstrating that he is the giver of the law. Do you understand? And then he stood up and said, "This is what I meant when I gave the law. He that is without sin, throw the first stone". Now, did he break Moses' law? No. He upheld it. He said, "Stone her, but only those without sin". And the Bible says, "Being convicted by their own conscience," verse 9, "they went out one by one, beginning with the eldest".
Always intrigued me, you know. I thought the older you get, the less guilty you are. Looks like I'm wrong. The older you get, the more guilty you become. "Beginning with the oldest even to the last, until all left". And Jesus was left alone with the woman. Okay, watch this. Next. "When Jesus had raised himself and saw no one but the woman, he says, 'Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?'" You know, there's only one person without sin who could throw the stone, and he did not. Think about that. There was someone there who could throw the stone, and he did not. He could. He would not. The Pharisees, they would, but they could not. And then Jesus asked the woman, "Where are those who accused you"? He wants it from her mouth. "No man has accused me". Watch what he said. "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more".
Our message is this. No condemnation for everyone that is in Christ. Why? Because Jesus took your condemnation. Now this empowers you to go and... and what? So where do you get the idea that when people understand no condemnation they go and sin some more? It is when people don't understand they are not condemned, they go and sin some more. When people understand there's no condemnation, it empowers them to go and sin no more. Then the next verse is amazing. There was no one in the temple courtyard anymore around the woman and Jesus. Obviously Jesus walked out. As he walked out, listen to what he said. This is powerful. "Then Jesus spoke to them again," obviously they were outside, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life".
You know what he's saying? The place of no condemnation in me is the place of light, and everyone that walks in that place you don't have to be afraid of the light anymore. You know why? When you step into the light, there's no sin found. Why? It shows the blood has removed it. The light doesn't show your sin anymore because the light shows the power that remove your sin, the blood of Jesus Christ. It glorifies him, not you. So he says, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk"... By the way, shall not here is one of those rare places, all right, that you find the Greek word 'ou me', which is a strong negative. You cannot walk in the darkness. "He who follows me can never, certainly not, walk in darkness". Did you hear that? You cannot. Impossible for a Christian to walk in darkness. Fall into sin, yes. Walk into darkness, no. I say a Christian, a true believer, not a professing one, there are many fake Christians around. You know what I'm saying now? Going to a church don't make you a Christian any more than going to McDonald's make you a Big Mac. You don't go to a garage and become a car, all right? Same thing. Now, true believers can never walk in darkness. It's a double negative. Shall not, certainly not, never walk in darkness because they have the light of life. Amen.
Go back to 1 John 1:7. Are you enjoying this? Now, "If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin". All right? Now, this is word all, as I said just now, is every sin, and the Word cleanses. That's why if we don't settle the first question, that big if, if we walk in the light; we don't settle what that's all about, then people's faith will not be there to believe that their sins have been cleansed. Can you understand that? Because it all hinges on the big if. But now that we have settled that question, guess what? We have fellowship one of another and the blood keeps on cleansing us. Maybe I submit to you the reason why that you don't find too many fellowship among believers, people are so full of jealousies, envies, unforgiveness, bitterness, strife, and all that in the body of Christ. You know why? We have not taught that we are righteous, we are sanctified, we are all in the light because that's where you find fellowship with one another. When that is not strong, fellowship is not strong. Performance is based on standing.
Remember that. Right believing produce right performance. Right believing produce right living. That's why I'm so strong on doctrine as well. Why? Right believing. I want to produce in you right believing so you have right results. You cannot afford to be namby-pamby, wavering, you know, have vacillating during times that we live in because the world is vacillating, all right? The world is being tossed to and fro. We cannot afford to be. We must be stable. Now, granted we are not perfect, all right, in and of ourselves we still vacillate here and there, but know where you're standing in. You're standing on the rock. You may vacillate, the rock never. You may shake, the rock never. And you are on the rock. Hallelujah? Praise the name of Jesus. I just preach myself happy. Amen?
So I'm going to tell you right now how I was introduced to the grace of God. I studied about grace here and there in the '70s, even when I was in my secondary school, but it never really got into my heart. I really could not understand. One thing I battled with in the '80s was my thoughts because long before something become an action, how many of you know it begins here in your heart and mind? I began to want to be so right with God that I was so self-occupied, self-engrossed I began to look at my thoughts and making sure I catch my thoughts before they become evil, before they become bad. Okay? So I looked at my thoughts, I looked at my feelings and tried to catch it, you know. And all the while I was very depressed because, you know, for example, if I'm talking to you, okay, if I find myself exaggerating a bit, I will stop in front of you and I'll confess. "Pastor Prince, you're so weird," you know.
Not if you believe 1 John 1:9 all the way. If you believe 1 John 1:9 is for the believer and unless you confess, God will not forgive you because you cannot say otherwise. It says very clearly if we confess then God is faithful and just to forgive us, and not until then; and to cleanse us, and not until then, from all unrighteousness, which means you are unrighteous again. That's what it implies. So I believe it all the way. That's why I've got no argument with people who want to believe it all the way. "Pastor Prince, I still believe 1 John 1:9 is for the believer". Good. Believe it all the way. Don't have this hypocritical thing 1 John 1:9 is the believer and all the time when you see your thoughts go astray you don't confess, when you worry you don't confess, when you are fearful you don't confess. Whatever is not of faith is sin, bro. Make sure you confess, everyone.
If you believe 1 John 1:9 is for the believer, believe it all the way the way I did. It nearly brought me into the insane asylum. I nearly lost my mind because every time I'm playing football, if I get angry with the opponent I have to stop and confess. Amen. If I look at a pretty girl, and I was a teenager. If I see a pretty girl, I have to stop and confess. Every time I look at a pretty girl longer than I should, I must confess because I do not know did I cross the line to lust. Did I lust? It was so, you know, sin-conscious. You're looking at someone who really, really wanted to be holy, who really believed 1 John 1:9 is for the believer, and I looked at other believers and they can play and they can shout sometimes words that is not very Christian-like during football and they don't seem to confess. Amen? I see some of them, they looked at girls longer than I did, you know, and they do not confess.
So as a teenager, I said, "Never mind. If they don't want to be right with God, I want to be right with God". I wanted to be so right with God it nearly brought me to the insane asylum, all right? I'm someone who really believed 1 John 1:9 is for the believer and believed it in a way that I practiced it every step of the way. So, church, what brought me out of that? One day as a teenager I remember, the way God is God, like, the end of the day because I wasn't a Greek scholar nor was I a Hebrew scholar. I didn't study Greek, didn't study Hebrew at the time. But I remember coming across some materials where 1 John 1:7 was mentioned. "And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses", and it so happens in this particular material it says the word cleanses there is the present, all right, listen. Present active indicative.
Now, what is present tense? That means what? Right now it is cleansing. In the Greek, it's even more powerful. It is cleansing and cleansing and ever cleansing. Wow! Then I thought to myself, "If I'm talking to somebody and I have a bad thought, God doesn't even wait for me to confess. It's gone by the blood". In other words, fasting, fast cleansing. I'm sorry to say it that way. But that's how I saw it. It's like the moment I have a bad thought, gone. The blood cleanses. The blood keeps on cleansing me all the time. If you take a rock from the grass after a rainy day or after early morning dew, you look at the rock, it has moths around it, it is wet, it's dirty, all right, smashed with mud and all that. And you put it under a small waterfall, let's say. Okay, there's a fountain there. You put it under the fountain, a small waterfall, and it's clean again. Then you put it back on the ground. The next morning you come back, again it's wet and it's dirty, you know. You pick it up, you put it under the small waterfall again, it's clean again. And you put it on the ground again, all right, you go out, come back, all right, the next morning, same thing again.
What if you take that stone and you put it all the time under the waterfall? That's what God did with all of us. God put you in a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emanuel's veins. "And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains". Hallelujah. You are in the flood. Amen. So that moment I realized that, I realized, "Wow, you know, I don't have to worry about my sin anymore. The blood takes care of it". And it changed my life. That began my journey in grace. Amen? Saved my mind. I don't have to go the insane asylum. Went to New Creation Church instead. Praise God. Hallelujah. And I thought I was the only one with this revelation at first because I was thinking, "People are not bothered about their sins, it seems".
And I thank God I found this verse that the blood keeps on keeping on cleansing us from every sin. And I remember after I became a pastor after many years, I read a story of this famous hymn writer. Her name was Frances Ridley Havergal, and Frances Havergal wrote more than 80 hymns. Very famous lady, hymn writer. She lived in the 1800s. Now I'm going to read to you something from the writings of Frances Havergal when she wrote to her sister and then wrote to her friend. This is taken from, "Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians" by Lawson Gilchrist. She was born to another hymnist. Her father was also a hymn writer, apparently quite well-known as well. "She was born in 1836. She was a very beautiful child fond of romping and climbing trees. She was so full of life and vivacity that her father called her his little quicksilver. She was very precocious and could read simple books easily at 3 years of age. At 4 years of age, she could write well and read the Bible correctly". At 4 years. "Her father was composer and musician of no little merit. At 9 years of age, she wrote long letters to her friends in perfect rhyme". At 9 years.
Because of the length of the thing, let me just tell you. She grew up as a beautiful girl, studied in Germany and in England, and she mustered these languages: Latin, French, German, Hebrew, Greek, as a teenager. She memorized all the Gospels, every chapter, every line. She memorized the entire Book of Revelation. She memorized all the Psalms. She memorized the entire Book of Isaiah. She was a prodigy. Started writing hymns, but there was a secret that a lot of people did not know. Even though she received Christ at a young age, she was quite depressed, all right? From the young girl, the precocious girl, the jumping-climbing-tree girl that her father calls her quick, a little quicksilver, she became very depressed about her sins. And I was reading this story and I was reading her story and was I thinking, "My goodness, she's just like me". And I was thinking, "How did she get out of it"? Okay? Would you like to know in her own words? Okay? She wrote to her sister this letter:
"Yes, it was on Advent Sunday, December 2nd 1873. I first saw clearly the blessedness of true consecration. I just saw it as a flash of electric light, and what you see, you can never unsee. First I was shown that the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin, and then it was made plain to me that he who had thus cleansed me had power to keep me clean. So I just utterly yield myself to him and utterly trusted him to keep me. Have we not been limiting 1 John 1:7 by practically making it refer only to remission of sins that are passed instead of taking the grand simplicity of cleanses us of all sin? All is all. And as we may trust him to cleanse us from the stain of passed sins, so we may trust him to cleanse us from all present defilement. Yes, all. If not, we take away from this most precious promise, and by refusing to take in its fullness, lose the fullness of its application and power. Then we limit God's power to keep. We look at our frailty more than his omnipotence. Where is the line to be drawn beyond which he's not able? It was that one word cleanseth which opened the door over very glory of hope and joy to me".
Don't forget, she can read her Bible in Greek.
"I'd never seen the force of the present tense before, a continual present, always a present tense, not a present which the next moment becomes a past. It goes on cleansing. And I have no words to tell how my heart rejoices in it, not a coming to be cleansed in the fountain only, but a remaining in the fountain so that it may and can go on cleansing".
In another letter to her friend:
"One of the intensest moments of my life was when I saw the force of that word cleanses, the utterly unexpected and all together an imagined sense of its fulfillment to me. On simply believing in its fullness was just indescribable. I expected nothing like it short of heaven". When she passed away, they listened to her as she whispers on her deathbed. When she went to be with Jesus, these were her last words: "It is all perfect peace. I'm only waiting for Jesus to take me in". What a way to go. After 1873 when she had that revelation about the word cleanses, she wrote, out of 80 hymns, she wrote two of the most loved hymns after she had the revelation. One of them is:
♪ Like a river glorious ♪
♪ Is God's perfect peace ♪
♪ Over all victorious ♪
♪ In its bright increase ♪
♪ Perfect, yet it floweth ♪
♪ Deeper every day ♪
♪ Perfect, yet it groweth ♪
♪ Each and every day ♪
♪ Stayed upon Jehovah ♪
♪ Hearts are fully blessed ♪
♪ Trusting in his promise ♪
♪ Finding peace and rest ♪
That's the song, "Like a River Glorious". A very loved hymn. Another one, many of you are probably familiar with is, "Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord to thee". Have you all? So all these were written right after she had this revelation. And she wrote about 80 hymns. And what a way to go. What a way. "It's all perfect peace," she said. "I'm only waiting for Jesus to take me in". Wow! When I saw that, I said, "God, it's not original with me". Yeah, now you know, all right, true grace has been preached down through these 2,000 years. There's always someone, a person that God would raise that God would give this restoration or this truth to. And now we are seeing more and more the fullness of it because we are in the last days. Amen? And I found out about this Greek tense long before I knew about the existence of Frances Havergal. I only read about it when I was a pastor, but as a teenager, I thank God it was the same God who led this lady who was sin conscious, obsessed, all right, with her shortcomings to see the tense of that word. And for me, I had the same experience.
So, church, what does she become after that? Does she become someone callous, not caring about Jesus's name and his glory, leaving license to sin? No. Believing this truth, those who knew her after she realized this truth, they said that Frances Havergal lived in heaven. Her life, her countenance radiated the glory of God. And I can say the same for myself. It made a pastor out of me, amen. As a teenager realizing this truth never caused me, oh, now I can go on looking at girls more and more. You know, I can exaggerate as much as want, lie as much... No, in fact, those things turned me off, amen. I didn't say girls turn me off, okay? Don't get mistaken. I say some girls look at me like that, you know? I don't mean girls. Girls are wonderful creatures from God, amen. But I'm talking about sin, lust, exaggeration. The more I know grace, the less and less I'm attracted to sin, the more and more I'm attracted to Jesus.
So, I do not know about this idea that people have that people, once they understand grace, they will go crazy and they will sin. I hear people always saying, "You know, my friend committing adultery, you know, because he says he's under grace". It's interesting. I always hear from people, other people who say about other people. My years as a pastor, and I've been around for many years now, don't be deceived by the look. all right? I've been around for a number of years as a pastor and I can tell you this, I have never had a couple living in adultery tell me to my face, never. All right? Counsel couples in adultery? Yes. All right, thank God not very often. But down through the years, yes. But never had one of them, any couple ever tell me to my face, "We are under grace". Never, never. I have to hear that from other people. Never.
See, if people want to find an excuse, you teach on the Antichrist and they will say it's the Antichrist if they want to live in adultery. You understand or not? People, if you teach faith, they'll blame it on faith, all right? People are just finding an excuse, but let's not compromise the truth of the gospel. What happens if a couple really tells me, "I'm under grace"? Well, I won't surrender the message of grace for them. I judge the message of grace, and I say it is from God. I judge their behavior, and I say it's from the devil, amen. It's as simple as that. It does not reflect on the message. If the message is wrong, then all of New Creation Church are adulterers and murderers and whoremongers and liars and cheats. Now you feel insulted because you know you're not, amen? So, if people find somebody attends New Creation Church who is smoking, all right, I'm not surprised. I think they are. "Are you against smoking, Pastor Prince"? I told you last week how to get out of it. Confess, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ".
"Well, Pastor Prince, are you saying that there's no one living in adultery"? There might be, as in every church, regardless of the name. In fact, I'm afraid to tell you without grace, you don't preach grace, then I think the few might be many. Because in a church of grace where there's grace, you know, it's easy to sin against two sets of stones, cold tablets of stone. It's hard when you keep on hearing about loving Savior to sin against him. I find that's hard. It's hard. If I have someone teaching me the law, it's easier to sin because it's impersonal. But someone unveiling Jesus to me, come on. "Yippee, I'm forgiven, I can go and sin". Never. Sick. "Well, Pastor Prince, I just believe we must preach more on repentance". I believe in repentance. Every Sunday people repent. They just don't beat their breast when they repent. You understand or not? They don't, "Ah, Jesus! Ah, Jesus"!
A lot of people beat their breast, scream, cry, and all that, and no change. They learn that from Korean dramas. Or Taiwan drama. But the thing is this, you know the word repentance is the Greek word metanoia, which means change of mind. Even today you hear this verse, your mind is changing, everything is changing. The way you used to think, you are no more thinking. That's repentance. Whether you express it openly in a dramatic fashion or not, you have repented. Every time New Creation Church doors are open, people are repenting, why? They keep on listening.
Now, another thing is that under law, you must repent before God blesses you. Under grace, God blesses you, and the goodness of God leads you to repentance. Which one came first, the net-breaking boat-sinking load of fishes in Peter's boat, or Peter shouting, "Lord, depart from me, I'm a sinful man"? Which one came first, the blessing or repentance? The blessing. Jesus gave him the blessing, and the goodness of God caused Peter to fall on his knees and say, "I'm a sinful man". Which one came first? When Jesus was captured in Caiaphas's house and Peter was out there denying with cursing and swearing he never knew Jesus, all right? After he denied the third time, the Bible says Jesus turned around and looked at him.
Something about that look says, "You see, I told you, but I still love you, and I forgive you, Peter". Because it broke Peter's heart. Peter wept bitter tears. Just one look, you can find this story in Luke. He turned around and looked at Peter. Which one came first, Peter repented with weeping and crying, then the Lord turned? Or the Lord turned looked at him to forgive him, then he wept? Which one happened first? He wept first, or the Lord turned to him first? The Lord turned to him, and you and I know in our own walk in our own life how many times he loved us, even when we were not walking all the way with him, and it broke our hearts. That's how we all came back. Only love can break your heart, therefore only love can heal it, amen? Are you blessed, church?
♪ There is a fountain ♪
♪ filled with blood ♪
♪ Drawn from ♪
♪ Emmanuel's veins ♪
♪ And sinners plunged ♪
♪ beneath that flood ♪
♪ Lose all their guilty stains ♪
♪ Lose all their guilty stains ♪
♪ Lose all their guilty stains ♪
♪ And sinners plunged ♪
♪ beneath that flood ♪
♪ lose all their guilty stains ♪
♪ The dying thief ♪
♪ rejoiced to see ♪
♪ that fountain in his day ♪
♪ And there may I ♪
♪ though vile as he ♪
♪ wash all my sins away ♪
♪ Wash all my sins away ♪
♪ Wash all my sins away ♪
♪ And there may I ♪
♪ though vile as he ♪
♪ Wash all my sins away ♪
Church, we are living in perilous times, and the world out there is crying, sighing, dying, crying out for the love that you and I are enjoying, crying out for some form of stability. All the way from Japan, all the way throughout Europe, all throughout London throughout England, people are crying out, young people are crying out for something real, something that will make them stable. You and I have him. You and I have the inheritance of the saints in light. You're all sons of light, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you constantly, constantly from every sin so that God is on your side. God is on your side. God is on your side. God is on your side! You don't have to run to this wealthy man for help. You don't have to run to this banker or that banker. You don't have to run to this counselor or that person for your children. Run to one who loves you with an everlasting love in whose arms you can find perfect acceptance. He gave his life for you, and he rose again to watch over you. Why don't you use his love? Why don't you use his promises? Why don't you use his grace? He wants so to be used. It delights him when you take from him because he's reaching out to you. You are upheld by his love, held by his strength, and he loves you. He loves you.
♪ Blessed be the Lord, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, thank you, Lord ♪
Everyone that's watching this right now, wherever you are, I want you to say this under your breath. "God is on my side". Say it again and again. "God is on my side". Then say, "God is for me". Say "For me". Say "God is for me". If God is for me, who can be against me? Say it. Can Satan? Can the volatile market? Can your opponents? Those who speak bad of you? If God is for you, who can be successfully against you? I say, who can, unless that person is greater than God? But this greatest person is on your side, and he's for you. God is for you. Now, circumstances right now might be against you. People might be against you. You will even use the word, "My luck is against me". But stop looking at all these things and start looking at the one who can change everything with a breath, with a sweep of his hand, with a word from his mouth, with a flicker of his hand. The Almighty One, God is light, and God is love, and he's on your side, and he's for you.
♪ Hallelujah ♪
♪ Hallelujah ♪
♪ Hallelujah ♪
♪ God is for you ♪
♪ God is for you ♪
♪ God is on your side ♪
♪ God is for you ♪
♪ Yes, he's for you ♪
♪ He's not against you ♪
If God is for you, who can be against you? Now, bring your needs to the Lord. Okay, bring your needs right now, whatever it is. Just throw it in the everlasting arms of omnipotence. Throw it in that hand that is so strong and tell him your trust is in him. Tell him. Tell him your trust is in him. Tell him that you will not be discouraged by looking at circumstances. You will not be depressed by looking at man. You will not be disappointed anymore. with all this so-called broken cisterns that can hold no water, you'll trust in the fountain of living waters that can never fail. You'll put your trust in that which is unshakable. You put your trust in that which is ever supplying you with life, grace, and peace, the never-ending supply of Jehovah God. Thank you, Father. Thank you for your anointing.
♪ Oh, bless ♪
♪ bless your holy name ♪
♪ Oh, my Father, Abba ♪
♪ my Father ♪
♪ You are holy, holy ♪
♪ You are holy, holy ♪
♪ You are holy and almighty ♪
♪ You are holy, holy ♪
Jesus cried at the cross, "You are holy, O God".
♪ So you must turn ♪
♪ your face away ♪
♪ away from me ♪
♪ For you are holy ♪
♪ Holy ♪
So, at the cross, God turned away his face from his Son as he bore your sin, my sins, in his own person on the tree. God turned his face because Jesus said, "God, you are holy, and I understand and I know why you are doing this".
♪ For you are holy ♪
♪ You are holy ♪
♪ Oh holy ♪
♪ Holy ♪
♪ You are holy ♪
And the heavens became brass and there was darkness that covered the earth. And God veiled the entire scene as the Son of God, the lamb of God became sin with our sins. And God turned his face towards all of us and God says...
♪ Come home ♪
♪ Come home, my child ♪
♪ Come home to my arms ♪
♪ Come home, my child ♪
♪ As the lamb cries holy ♪
♪ God is welcoming us home ♪
♪ For he's holy ♪
♪ He's holy ♪
And Jesus cried, "It is finished"! And God tore the veil of the temple. A holy God receives sinful man because the blood has been shed, and that blood forevermore cleanses you. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! So that forevermore, you and I can stand in the presence of a holy God. "Holy. Holy.Holy".
Now, don't be afraid of God's holiness. Come boldly before God, for the light that shines on you will not expose your sins and imperfections. It cannot. That light can only expose what the blood is doing, and the blood is ever cleansing it. Hallelujah. Give praise to God. Give glory to his name. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.
Now, look up here. Now you know why God turned his back on his Son, because God is holy and his Son took our place so that we can take Jesus's place. And God turned his face on us, and now God is forever with you. He's not dealing with you based on sin. He's dealing with you based on Son through Jesus Christ, amen? And I want everyone that's watching this right now, wherever you are even watching this via television, if you know you need Jesus, you need his cleansing blood, you want to be in that fountain, as a sinner, you want to plunge yourself beneath that cleansing stream of Jesus's blood, I want to pray with you right now. Pray this prayer from your heart. Wherever you're watching this, say this from your heart:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for your love for me. You loved me before I knew you, and you sent your Son Jesus Christ to die on that cross for all my sins so that you, a holy God, can receive sinful man, can receive me into your presence with all righteousness, with all holiness. Thank you, Father God, that I'm constantly under the fountain of the blood of Jesus. Thank you, Father, you raised him from the dead. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior now and forever. In Jesus's name, amen.