Joseph Prince - He Goes Ahead Of You

This is the day the Lord has made, and we will rejoice and be glad in it. What day is it? The acceptable year of the Lord that Jesus came to preach. Notice when Jesus preached that sermon from Isaiah, he did not go on to the day of vengeance because, in his First Coming, he's come to bring grace, the age of grace, hallelujah. And at the end of this age of grace, we know that Jesus will return and then the day of vengeance of our God will happen, all right, when God will set everything that's wrong right with this earth, praise the Lord. And there'll be prosperity and peace that is unprecedented all over the earth, praise the Lord. And we will reign with him, the Bible tells us. But right now, we are in the acceptable year of the Lord, the age of grace.

Some theologians like to call it the dispensation of grace. So the way God deals with us, especially us who are believers on Christ, is by grace, amen. Grace is undeserved, unmerited favor. But even with the world, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, "God is not counting their sins, their trespasses, against them," amen, but God is instead having a posture towards them like this. God is saying, "Come back to me. Be reconciled to God". And that's the posture that God has towards all sinners in this dispensation of grace. Jesus's death on the cross released this age of grace, and it's been lasting for about 2,000 years now, but with God it's like two days, for "a thousand years with the Lord is like one day," the Bible tells us. So, as far as God is concerned, two days have passed, amen? And we know on the third day, the Bible says, he will revive us. In Hosea it says he will revive us, and the Bible says we will live in the light of his presence. Praise the name of Jesus.

I'm excited because this message of grace is a message that, you know, will so liberate you into the life that God wants you to have, a life full of love, joy, and peace, where God will be involved in you in a very personal way, where God is not just God far away, like for the sinner; when they think of God, they think of God out there, you know, vengeful, wrathful, about to judge them. But God is a Father to us, amen. We see the true God, amen. The veil has been parted and we see the true God. And the Bible says God is love, amen. But God is holy and, because of that, God has to remove the barrier of sin between us and him, and therefore, he sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on that cross for our sins. In fact, when Jesus expired, amen, when Jesus gave up his breath, in the last breath, he gave up his life, he says, "'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.'. And He breathed His last".

In other words, he dismissed his spirit. Death did not seize upon him. The Bible says he dismissed his spirit like the King that he is, amen. And when he dismissed his spirit, the Bible tells us that the veil in the temple separating the holy place from the Holy of Holies where God's presence dwells, that veil was torn from top to bottom, indicating that God is stepping outside, amen? The barrier of sin is no more hindering God from blessing the people. It is no more hindering God from wanting to do good things in their life, from being a Father to them, amen? And that barrier came down when Jesus died on that cross. And on the third day, when Jesus rose from the dead, the Bible tells us he breathed on his disciples and he sent the Holy Spirit 50 days after that, amen? And we're all baptized in the Holy Spirit, so God is not just with us now, God is in us, amen. And he's loving us. Even the Holy Spirit, when Jesus introduced him in the upper room, Jesus says, "The Comforter, who is with you, will be in you". And he says, "He'll abide with you for ever". It's a forever thing. God is in me, God is in you, amen? "And greater is he that's in you, than he that is in the world".

Well, we're gonna continue our series on Romans 6, and then we have finished Romans 6 the last time, and now we are going to Romans chapter 7. But in Romans 7, we talk about dead to the law, amen? When Christ died on the cross, not only the cross, in his body he bore away our sins, but he also bore us away, that part of us that is a big problem to all of us, that part of us that loves to sin, that part of us that in it dwells no good thing, that part is always causing us to be depressed, to be dejected. There's a part that is always our worst enemy. Okay, that self has been crucified on that cross. Aren't you glad? The Bible says, "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him". So, it's a done deal. The old man is gone, praise the Lord. We learned that, amen, last week, and we learned that the old man is no longer there, but the flesh is there. The flesh is in us and the flesh still wants to do the things that the old man loves to do, that is, to sin. And in our flesh dwells no good thing.

Now, listen carefully: the flesh is in you and me, but we are not in the flesh, amen? It is in us, but we are not in it. In other words, our identity before God is in the Spirit. God sees us in our new identity, in Christ. Even though we have the flesh, God does not identify you with it. Now, that's a liberating statement, amen. Listen carefully. Even though you still have the flesh, God does not identify you with it. And yet, God, at the same time, tells us to reckon or to consider it dead. Now, in experience, it doesn't seem dead. It seem to be calling us to do sinful stuff, amen, sinful things. But God says, "Count it dead," because in God's realm, in God's reality, it is dead. Where, where did it die? At the cross with Christ. Christ took us and finished it off, hallelujah, so that our new self will rise in him, amen? So to our experience, it seems alive, but to faith, it is dead. And God says, "Stay in faith, count it, count it dead".

Now, if it's in experience dead, all right, then God don't have to tell us to count it dead, amen? If it's actually in our own experience dead, we don't even have to count it dead. Why not? Because it's dead. We'll know it. But then, it's not through experience; it is through faith. So, child of God, perhaps you've been having challenges, even this past week, trying to apply that, and you're saying, "Pastor Prince, you could have fooled me because, you know what, it seems so alive". And I know that the more you see it dead, it seems like it's alive, because that's like the last gasping breath of a person that is losing the battle and he's trying to make you believe he's still alive.

Now, what is the flesh? If it's not the old man, what is the flesh? The flesh is not the old man. The old man is gone. The old you and me is gone at the cross, but the flesh is still in us; let me explain. You know, the behavior and the temptations and the inclinations of the old man is what the flesh is all about. Its deposits are all in the flesh. So God leaves the flesh with us, and I suspect it's because to humble us, to make us realize that we need him, amen, we need the Holy Spirit to work this through us, amen. We cannot overcome the flesh on our own, so we are such proud creatures, if we don't have the flesh to remind us once a while that we cannot do it without him, you know, there's no telling what heights of vanity and self-exaltation will always take and rob God of his glory. But, friend, I believe that God leaves the flesh with us.

Now, flesh is like, you know, you get off a boat and it's been a choppy time, you know, at sea. There's a little bit of storm and you've been on the ferry or on the ship and you go up and down, right? Now, when you step on land, if you've ever had that experience, how do you feel? You feel like even though you're on solid land, but you feel as if you are still going up and down, right? It's not real, but you're experiencing it. To experience, it is real, but to reality, amen, it is not real. It's not real. That's what the flesh is like, okay? Or let me illustrate also by another illustration that I can think of. It's like hearing the bell, amen, the bell, all right, it is clanging for about, let's say a minute, all right? It's a loud clanging, you know, bell, maybe a church bell or whatever. And after the bell stops ringing... or maybe not one minute, maybe it's five minutes, okay, to proclaim some festival or things like that, you know. When the bell stops ringing, many a time we still hear the bell ringing in our heads.

Now, in reality, it's not there. But to experience, we are still hearing it in our mind. So our minds need to be renewed. Our experience, our soul realm, is where we feel that sin is still alive. So we are dead to sin, praise God. And Romans 6 teaches us that we are dead to sin in Christ, not in ourselves, but in Christ. It's all real only in Christ, and God has placed us all in Christ. Our history in Christ began at the cross. Praise the Lord. Today, we look at Romans 7, the very next chapter, and Romans 7 tells us we are "dead to the law by the body of Christ". So, another thing that happened at the cross is that when we died with Christ, all right, we didn't just die to sin, we also died to the law, the law of God. Now, let me just say this. Only when we die to the law of God can we live unto God. The Bible says we are "dead to the law, that I might live unto God," Paul says.

And here is where I find that a lot of believers have, you know, a problem in really grasping this. They think that when you teach about being dead to the law, you are teaching people licentiousness, you are teaching people law-breaking. They don't realize the purpose for which God gave the law. Okay, I am for the reason God gave the law, and God never gave the law to justify man by. God gave the law to expose man's sin. Nothing wrong with the law. The law is holy, just, and the law is God's demands, amen, God's requirements of holiness from our lives. But the very law that God gave, God knew that "by the law is the knowledge," not of righteousness, but "of sin". In other words, the more we try to keep the law, the more we see sin activated in our lives. The more we see our flesh bringing up sin, and the flesh loves, if it cannot be dead to sin, the flesh will still want to do something good, and in that way, it can still survive. But God says we are dead to the law. We cannot do wrong, we cannot do right, amen, in and of ourselves through the flesh, amen?

But yet, people are putting confidence in the flesh. They believe they can keep the law. They believe that they are saved to keep the law. In other words, Jesus is not the goal, he's not the Beginning and the End, he's not the Alpha and the Omega. He is just a means to the end, and we are saved by him so that we can keep the law. The law is the chief end, for which we are saved to keep the law. That is the furthest from the gospel. That is not what God has in mind; God says you are dead to the law. Let's look at Romans 7, verse 4. It tells you here: "Now brethren, you also have become dead to the law". Notice, you are become what? "Dead to the law". Not trying to die; you are dead to the law, how? "Through the body of Christ, that you may be married to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God," hallelujah. And this union, in other words, we are dead to the law, the verses before this, verses 1 to 3, if you have time, read 'em, how Paul uses the analogy of marriage, how that we are all married to Mr. Law, so to speak.

And the law, nothing wrong with Mr. Law; the law is holy, perfect, righteous, amen? The problem's with us. The problem's with us. For example, if we tell a child not to look behind, "I'm going out of the room. Don't look inside that basket, okay? Don't look inside that basket". And the child looks inside that basket, okay? Now, it is not the commandment, it's not the commandment that causes the child to rebel, okay? The commandment just reveals what the child is. The commandment reveals what we are, amen. So, nothing wrong with the law. There's never anything wrong with the law. But we cannot keep the law, amen? The law was given to show us what we are, amen? So now, the way to holiness is Christ and Christ alone, amen? Whoever abides in him will walk as him, in him, praise the Lord. Christ is our goal, "with unveiled face". And the word "unveiled" there has got to do with the law. With the law out of our lives, we behold Christ, "and we're all being transformed into the same image from glory to glory". We behold what? The glory of the Lord, transformed by beholding. That's great news, amen. We're not transformed by trying to keep the law; in fact, the more you try, you're saying you're still alive.

So this verse says that "we are dead to the law. They should be married to Jesus Christ". So, in other words, we are dead to Mr. Law, our first husband, okay? Notice, Mr. Law didn't die. We died, amen? The law of God is eternal. So, we died. We died to Mr. Law, amen? He cannot die, but we can die. So Jesus even provided the death for us. The only way out of death, and if you read the preceding verse, it talks about a woman bound in marriage, amen, to her husband, but if she goes with another man, she's committing adultery. The only way, legally and righteously, out of that marriage is she dies. So Jesus provided the death at the cross. We died with him to Mr. Law, and now we are risen from the dead to be married to Jesus Christ, hallelujah.

Now, Jesus's holiness and righteousness goes beyond the law, amen? But what he demands, what he wants, he himself performs in us and through us. The first husband demands, you know, breakfast on time, you know, his eggs must be just right and the toast must not be burned in any way, and then the coffee, the temperature has got to be perfect, just not too hot and neither lukewarm. He just want it right, and if not, he will complain, he will condemn, amen. But living under that Mr. Law is not easy because we are not perfect. So, guess what? This woman longs to be with this wonderful Savior who loves her, even though even his holiness is perfect, amen, but what he demands, he himself does. He brings her breakfast in bed, hallelujah, amen. He takes care of her. He loves her, he restores her soul, he leads her in paths of righteousness for his name's sake, he makes her rest, lie down in green pastures, amen. Leads her beside the waters of quietness, hallelujah. She wanna be married to him, and the only way out is to die. So, even the death he provided.

Remember, grace is all about providing supply. Law is all about demand, demand, you shall not, you shall not. Grace is that what you cannot, I supply. You don't have righteousness before God? I give you the gift of righteousness, amen. You don't have holiness before God? I supply you with the holiness, the sanctification, amen. Even the death he supplied. So we died at the cross, amen, with Christ to the law. Not just to sin, that's Romans 6, but Romans 7, died to the law. Praise the Lord that we should be what? That we should be married to Jesus Christ, who is raised from the dead, hallelujah. We are married to the resurrected Jesus, and our life, our union, is beyond death, on the other side of death, amen. And this union brings forth fruit unto God. When we were with Mr. Law, we tried to keep it, we tried to have fruit, but there's no fruit in our life. But with Jesus, there's fruit unto God, amen? And that's what the verse says: "For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death".

Notice, verse 4 says that married to Jesus, that we should bear fruit to God. Here, when we were under the law, our sinful passions "were aroused by the law and they work in our members," what? "To bear fruit to," what? "Death". Which would you like to have? If you are under law, you will bear fruit to death. But you are under Jesus, amen, in this new union, with him who is raised from the dead. You bear fruit to God, hallelujah. And yet the devil has sort of covered this whole thing and blinded the eyes of people so to make them see that grace is dangerous, but keeping the law is right because you become holy; and nothing could be further from the truth. This is not the truth of the gospel, amen? The true gospel tells us "we are dead in Christ, that we should be married to another".

In verse 6 it tells us: "But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter". It's very clear: we are delivered from the law. You know, this language cannot be clearer. We are delivered from what? The law. "Having died to that which held us". So we died to the law. And once upon a time, Israel was under the law, right? Jesus came to provide the death for Israel, and for all of us, amen. So, we were once married to Mr. Law, but now we are dead to the law, amen. And the Bible says we have died to that which held us so that we can what? "Serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter". "The letter" here refers to the Ten Commandments.

Now, some people might say, "Well, Pastor Prince, this deliverance from the law is deliverance from having to sacrifice lambs every day, or to observe the feasts of Israel or the ceremonial law". No, my friend, don't divide the law. Sometimes, for understanding, we divide the law to ceremonial, you know, to moral, amen, and different parts of the law; but, friend, God sees the law as one composite whole. James says it like this: "You break one commandment, you break them all". It's like a string of pearls, amen? If it's broken at one point, it's all gone, amen, amen? So, the way God sees the law is one composite whole. And, in fact, if you talk about ceremonial law, the whole context here that says we are delivered from the law, we are dead to the law; it's not referring to ceremonial law. It's very clear. The context tells us we are dead to the Ten Commandments. Look at the context. Context is king. Here it says, next verse, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness," or lust, "unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet,'" or lust, amen.

Covet is a sinful desire, but this sinful desire thing, Paul says, "The more I try to keep it, the more I produce sin. I would not have known sin, except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet.'. But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment," notice that? Sin does not work by itself. "Sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire". And this amazing statement here: "For apart from the law sin was dead". Apart from the law, sin was dead. So, the context tells us, verse 6, the verse preceding verse 7, that we are delivered from the law, is the law of the Ten Commandments. Very clear. He quoted the tenth commandment, which is, "You shall not covet. You shall not have evil desire". And here it says, "The more I try to keep that, the more I produce in me all manner of evil desire," wow.

So, if the devil wants to bring all kinds of evil desires in the life of a believer, what does he do? He knows that the direct approach to tempt him might not work for a mature believer, so what does he do? He says that now that you're mature, you need to keep the law. Study the law, keep the law, amen? Without the law, you cannot be holy. So the more the believer tries to adopt the law, the more he sees all manner of evil desire rising up. Again, nothing wrong with the law, but the law was given for what purpose? For the knowledge of sin, to experience sin; and apart from the law, sin is dead. Sin, even though, is in us. We're not sinless, okay? Sin is in us. Let me say it like this. In God's eyes, God does not see sin on us. Sin has all been removed at the cross by the blood of Christ, amen? But there's still sin in us, amen?

Now, that sin in us, the Bible says, apart from the law, that sin is, like, dead, amen. So what stirs it? Introduction of the law, when the commandment came. In fact, there's a verse that says: "When the commandment came, sin revived and I died". "When the commandment came, sin revived". Yeah, I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, sin revived. What revived? Sin revived. When? "When the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me". Notice that? "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good". We agree. "For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me". That's why it's called the ministry of death. You know, in 2 Corinthians 3, the apostle Paul says, "But the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones". Have you read that before? "The ministry of death, written and engraved on stones".

Now, this is not the ceremonial law. He's not referring to the aspect of the ceremonial law, okay? He's referring to the Ten Commandments, because only the Ten Commandments were written and engraved on stones. And he calls it what? The ministry of what? Death. And we read just now that it brings forth fruit to death. It says that when I try to keep, when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. So I believe that in the hallway, the corridors of darkness, this is taught to all the minion evil spirits how to tempt a believer. If you come and approach him with clear-cut temptation, not many of them will fall. The more mature ones won't. The way to get the more mature ones, is to come in a religious way, okay? Tell them, "Keep the commandment, amen? Learn about the commandment. Everyone else that says you are dead to the law and all that, they are just hyper-grace; they are people that, you know, don't understand better, all right? They love to sin, okay? But you know you love God. You love holiness. So keep the law". And the more they try, the more they fail.

And, friend, it is not so much of, you know, what you say in public, it is what you experience in private; who you are when no one is looking. Are these the results of your life, all right? There's something that you have to answer before God, but, friend, I'm showing you what has happened, amen, to us at the cross, amen. We have been delivered from the law, hallelujah. We are dead, not just to sin, but dead to the law through the body of Christ, hallelujah. And this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, amen? "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ". The law was given. Grace and truth came, amen? To come to someone is personal, amen. You can give something from a distance. You can post it, you can send it, but to come in person, that is intimacy, that is closeness, amen?

"The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ". And this is the gospel that's transforming lives all over the world. We are seeing that happen. I wanna share with you a testimony right now I believe will encourage you and bless you. Perhaps there's someone that's watching that you're going through the same situation, and you can hear about what God has done for people like this, he will do for you. He's no respecter of persons, but he's a respecter of grace and faith. Praise God. This is a brother from Ohio, United States.

My children had been taken away from me when I enlisted in the US Navy in 1983. Their mother married another man who adopted my children, and one night I was pretty intoxicated and feeling depressed. I remember feeling like I was all alone with absolutely nobody to help me or understand the pain I was going through. I was even contemplating suicide. That night, I tune in to Pastor Prince's sermon. When I heard his sermon, I began to sob uncontrollably and fall to the floor on my knees, and I told the Lord that I didn't want to suffer one more day without my children. The next morning, I got up to start drinking as usual and fixed my first drink of the day: beer and tomato juice. When I tried to take a sip, I found that I couldn't stand the smell or taste of alcohol. I tried again with just beer and still couldn't stand the smell or taste of it. I have never taken another drink since that day, and still cannot stand the smell of alcohol to this day. That was just the beginning of my life transformation. The Lord's grace restored to me everything I had lost over the past years, plus extra. The Lord also gave me grace to get my driver's license reinstated and my Social Security disability benefits approved within two weeks. Within a month, I reconnected with my children on social media and am enjoying a very close and loving relationship with them today. To God be the glory. Hallelujah, praise God.

Now, we learn from Romans 6, it's a picture of Israel at the Red Sea. God opened up the sea, and it's a picture of Christ's death at the cross. And Israel saw her enemies, for us it's our sins, amen, coming after them, and they were alive on the other side of the Red Sea, right? On the Egyptian side of the Red Sea, the Egyptians were alive, amen. So the fleshly inclinations look alive, but then God open up the sea and there's a picture of the cross, and they went through, so to speak, they went through death but by dry land, why? Because Jesus went through death for us. We don't have to die today to our sins, amen? We died in him already. He provided the way for us. Our part is, praise the Lord, easy: just to believe it's happened to us. But he did the work, amen? He suffered the pain and the agony of dying on the cross for you and I so that you and I can just believe and be counted dead in him, hallelujah.

So he opened the way and they travel as by dry land, the Bible says. And on the other side, when God closed on enemies that were chasing them, the corpses all floated to the other side for them to see that their enemies that they were afraid of, the sins that you are afraid of in your life, the sin that seems to loom large sometimes, they are dead and they are gone, hallelujah. They are dead and they're gone. And that's the only thing that can give Israel, because Israel has been saved by the blood of the Passover Lamb, right, a few days earlier, but now, Israel still had fears about her enemies. But on the other side of the Red Sea, their fear subsided, and that's where we are when we see our old man is dead, is gone. Our flesh cannot rise up against us because it is dead, praise the Lord, amen.

Now, I'm not saying to experience it is; I'm telling you by faith, you must see it that way, your sins are dead and gone, hallelujah, in Christ. Praise the name of Jesus. And all this the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 11: "Now all these things happened to them," referring to all the events of the Old Testament, "as types". The crossing of the Red Sea is a type. A type is something that is like a visual aid for us to learn some things from God, the wisdom of God, the doctrines that God wants us to learn, because it is knowing the truth, not the truth itself, knowing the truth, that sets us free in our own personal lives, amen. The truth by itself cannot set people free. The truth is always there. People pass by the Bible and all that. It is not the truth, the truth is in their house, it will set them free, amen? It is the truth, all right, but the truth known is what gives you that personal freedom, hallelujah.

So, friend, there is another crossing which is another type: the crossing of the River Jordan, the Jordan River. Remember on the other side, after 40 days of being wandering in the wilderness... now, God never wanted them to wander. God wanted them to enter fast, a number of days, but because of their sin, because of their unbelief... now, child of God, listen. These are people who came out by the blood of the Lamb. They went through the Red Sea, they went to the other side. The Egyptians are dead, amen, but during their journey in the wilderness, God wanted them to go in swiftly into the land of Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, but instead of that, it took them 40 years of wandering before they entered Canaan. Why is that so? One word, the Bible tells us: unbelief. Unbelief.

So we can take a look right now at the two crossings: the crossing of the Red Sea, which we have covered for the past weeks, that is Romans 6; and now we look at Romans 7, amen? The crossing of the Jordan River. Why do I say that? Why do I say that this, Romans 7, dead to the law, Romans 6, crossing of the Red Sea, dead to sin, and it's all the same death, the death of Christ at the cross, amen? But notice, there is a difference. In the crossing of the Red Sea, there was no ark, the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Remember the ark of the covenant of the Lord? Just to refresh your memory, real fast, let me show you the ark of the covenant. It is made up, actually, the top part is made of solid gold. The entire piece is made of solid gold, okay? And the bottom part is made of acacia wood, which is wood that is incorruptible. A wood is always a picture of humanity, and it's a picture of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. "The word became flesh and dwelt among us". And then it's overlaid with gold. You can't see the wood now, because it's overlaid with gold.

So Jesus is 100% human and he's 100% God. A lot of errors about the person of Jesus. Either we see him just as man or just as God. No, he is 100% human, 100% man, 100% God, amen? So the Mercy Seat, which is solid slab of gold on top of it, what is it covering? That's the Mercy Seat, and that's where the high priest of Israel goes in once a year with the blood of animals to sprinkle on the Mercy Seat. Where he's standing in front of the Mercy Seat, he sprinkles seven times. But on the Mercy Seat, he sprinkles once with the blood. What does that tell us? Seven times in front is our position before God. Seven is the number of perfection.

We have perfect standing through the blood of Jesus Christ before the Father today. We can come boldly to the throne of grace. The throne of judgment has become the throne of grace because of the blood of Jesus, amen, sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, hallelujah. And God is there with all his power and glory, amen, to come and work on our behalf, amen, to bring breakthroughs, amen, deliverances in our life; to fight for us, amen; to be a Father over us, to care for us, hallelujah; to bring his power to bear upon our situation. Then come boldly to obtain grace, amen. Can come boldly, amen, and not be afraid, amen?

So what does it cover? What's inside this box, this ark of the covenant? We see the three items. And all these three items represent man's rebellion against God. They were given, all right, because on occasions of man's rebellion. Of course, we know that man complain and murmured against the provisions of God, which is the manna. Every day, God provided manna for them, and they rebelled by murmuring against the manna. And you know what God said to Moses? "Take some manna and put it under the Mercy Seat".

Now we're opening up for you to see, all right, what's inside. And then they murmured also during the wilderness experience against Aaron's leadership, and what did God say? "All the 12 leaders of the 12 tribe, bring your rod," and God laid overnight at the tabernacle and the next day, guess what? Aaron's rod budded, brought forth leaves, amen, and blossoms and fruit, though it's cut off from the roots, amen. Showing what? Resurrection life, a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Aaron, amen, our high priest. And then the Ten Commandments is given to show God's holy standards, amen, God's requirements of man that man cannot keep. So all these three tokens, God says, "Put it inside the ark of the covenant. I don't wanna look at them," amen. God says, "Cover them with the Mercy Seat," amen.

Notice they're all covered, okay? Now it's all inside. Guess what? Grace, or Mercy Seat, is higher than the law. Can you see that? Mercy is higher than the law, okay? So that's why the Bible says in Galatians chapter 5: "Whosoever of you are justified by the law," you try to keep the law, "you are fallen from grace". And this was the sin of the people at Beit Shemesh. They look inside, and you know what happens when you look inside the ark of the covenant? You die, all right? We saw that in the "Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark," didn't we? Okay, you can't look into the, but what is the actual thing about looking into the ark? You're actually looking at the law. You're trying to bring out the law, and there are people doing this today.

You know, one time, God spoke to me and God says that, you know, "My people are still committing the sins of Beit Shemesh". And I didn't fully comprehend that until I studied this, and it's actually bringing the law out into the open again, teaching the law, magnifying the law instead of Jesus and his finished work. So notice, Paul says, "Whoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from grace". "Fallen from" means grace is a higher position. Grace is a higher ground, amen? It's above the law. And you fall from grace when you sin? No, when you are trying to be justified by the law. So, friend, that's a picture of the ark of the covenant, hallelujah. It's a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen, his humanity and his deity as well as his finished work, accomplished, amen, shown on the Mercy Seat.

So it's a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's why it's called the ark of the testimony or the ark of the covenant of the Lord. And we see in the crossing of the Jordan River, there is the ark, the priests carried the ark, whereas in the Red Sea crossing, there is no ark. So you cannot say the Red Sea is where, you know, both happened, dead to sin and dead to the law, because the law was not yet given. But over here, in the crossing of the Jordan River, they carried the ark of the covenant. And notice, they carry it on their shoulders, the priests carry it on their shoulders. God told Joshua to command them to carry on their shoulders, all right, and go into the River Jordan. So it's a picture of exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to exalt him.

You know, in the traveling dress, so to speak, of the ark of the covenant, it's actually overlaid with three curtains. The first curtain is actually the curtain I talk about just now. I allude to it when I talk about when Jesus died, the curtain that separates the holy place and the Holy of Holies was torn. Well, that's the curtain they used from the Holy of Holies to cover the ark when they travel. There's the first covering. The second covering they put over the ark is the badger skins covering. The badger skin shows the roughness and the immunity, amen, Christ's immunity to sin, hallelujah, amen. Even he's immune to disease, amen? When he touched the leper, he didn't get what the leper had. The leper got what he had, hallelujah, which is health and wholeness, praise God.

And then the third curtain that covered the badger skin is the curtain of blue, which symbolizes heaven. When you look up, notice that God covers the entire sky with blue, why? Because the ark of the covenant, when it travels on the shoulders of the high priests in the wilderness journey and also around the walls of Jericho, you know, pictures, we see pictures showing them, we see the ark; I think that's a portrait how the ark looks like. But actually in traveling dress, you don't see the ark. All you see is the blue, the outermost curtain, the blue. What is God showing us? God is telling us, "You wanna see the ark, the true ark today? Look beyond the blue," amen? And that's where the real you is because you are in Christ risen. Look beyond the blue. Jesus is there. Your righteousness is there, hallelujah. Your holiness is there. Your wisdom is there. Your health and your healing is there. As he is, so are we in this world.

So look beyond the blue, praise God. And all the people saw, even the people of Jericho, when they saw, seven days they were going around the walls of Jericho, all they saw was the blue and the priests carrying the ark. And that's a picture of you and I. Our priestly ministry is to lift up Jesus, amen. There's a priestly ministry to lift Jesus up, not to lift any names up, amen? Praise the Lord. You know, sometimes when you read the testimony and all that, you hear people saying, "I heard your sermon and, you know, this happened," and all that, but notice that right at the end, they know who to give praise to. They know that I'm just a servant of the Lord, amen? And I'm the delivery boy, amen. I bring the bread, but they know who made the bread, amen? They know who sent me. Praise the Lord. So they give the glory to Jesus. Every one of them that I read, you'll find that they're grateful to the Lord Jesus. Yes, they appreciate me for being faithful, okay, for preaching the Word, but they know who to give the glory to, amen? It is to the one and only, praise the Lord. He did everything for us, hallelujah. To him be all the praise, glory, and honor, amen.

So Joshua told the people, the priests, amen, all right, "Carry the ark on your shoulders, and the moment you step into the River Jordan, the river will open up". All right, but notice it's a act of faith. They must step into the river. They must step into the river. So what's the picture of the ark there? Amen, what's inside the ark? Well, you know, the Ten Commandments is there. It's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ bringing us to the place, "Jordan" means "Yarden" in Hebrew, means, "going down into judgment". "Din" means "judgment". "Yarden" means going, "descending into judgment".

So the Jordan River starts off in the foothills of the Mount Hermon. In fact, it is three streams coming together. The first one, Dan, the Dan stream, then you have the Banias stream, and then you have the Hasbani spring. It's like the triune God, the Trinity coming, all right, the three streams coming together, making one Jordan River, all the way down, 130 miles right through the Sea of Galilee, and all the way, it ends in the Dead Sea, 130 miles below sea level, and during that time of Joshua's crossing and the people of Israel, the Jordan River is much larger than it is today because there are many villages down through the years, you know, that siphon water off from the River Jordan, so it's not like what it was before, okay? But during the time of Joshua and the peoples crossing, it was actually overflowing during springtime, and the crossing happened during springtime, during the time of the Passover, okay? And when they crossed over, the Bible says the banks was overflowing because it's a time of harvest, which is springtime, all right?

"So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water, for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest", so it's dangerous to cross, right? At a time when it's really dangerous to cross, God says, "Go ahead," but notice the feet of the priests must step in first. That is faith, amen? Faith takes God at his word, and the moment they step into that overflowing flood, amen, of the River Jordan, see what happened, "that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan".

Now notice that the moment the priests stepped into it, it's a picture of what? Jesus's death at the cross, amen, dead to the law, us being dead to the law. The ark of the covenant, the priests went in, which means they were carrying the ark of the covenant. When they stepped into the River Jordan, it split, and the stream flowing down, all right, was pushed back about 30 miles, all the way to the city of Adam. Today there's that location, there's a place called Adam Bridge, which is where the city of Adam used to be, but notice the name "Adam". It's like the judgment of the cross pushed back all the judgment, amen, all the way from the time of Adam, where it all started, amen? Judgment started at when Adam sinned, and Jesus's death on the cross, amen, pushed back all the judgment, all the way to the time of Adam. Praise the name of Jesus.

And notice there was another city nearby, called Zaretan. Friend, when you read the Bible, there are no insignificant details. Zaretan actually literally means in Hebrew "their distress". "Their distress". So, not only judgment is pushed back all the way, all right, to Adam, in other words, we are no more suffering the judgment that came from Adam's time, and ladies, that includes the pain during childbirth. Notice that childbirth is not a judgment from God. God says in the beginning, before man's sin, "Be fruitful and multiply," but later on, when man sinned, God says, "In pain, in sorrow, you shall bring forth children," and you know what? All this judgment, their distress, all the thing that came in, sickness and disease and poverty and depression and addiction and bondage all came in because of Adam's sin.

So you know what? Jesus's death did not just push back all the judgment that came on all of us because of Adam but also all the distresses, hallelujah, all your distresses pushed back all the way. Whatever came in because of Adam's sin, and we know a lot came in, a lot of destruction came in, a lot of sickness and even death came in. Jesus push it all the way back, amen, through his death at Calvary, hallelujah, a picture of the crossing of the River Jordan, and the Bible says the priests were to stand still. They were to stand still in the midst of the Jordan, amen, the River Jordan, and it was dry now. All the way to the Dead Sea is dry, amen, and here it's dried up as well, all the way to the city of Adam, and notice the Bible says it went up. The waters went up in a great heap.

Imagine 30 miles to Adam, the city of Adam, 30 miles, which means there's a lot of water that stood up like a pillar. I believe it's, like, swaying up in the sky. And you know what? Even the people of Jericho saw that, and they were afraid. They were afraid. They saw that God opened up the River Jordan for the children of Israel to cross at a time when the river was overflowing in all its banks, and it stood, the Bible says, like a great heap, hallelujah, hallelujah. Now, something else God told the children of Israel, "Don't come near the ark". God says, "Look at the ark. Look at the ark and follow after it". Now, the officers told the people, this is what they said to the people. They commanded the people, now, these are the officers talking now: "When you see the ark," when you see Jesus, in other words, "and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it".

Now, we are not to go after the priests that carry, amen? Right? You don't go after Pastor Prince or anyone that preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ, amen? You go after the one that we are preaching, amen? Don't go after the priests that are exalting him. Go after it, the ark, the Lord Jesus himself. Go after him, praise the Lord. "Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before". "You have not passed this way before". Hallelujah, God says, "I'm going ahead," all right, "make sure there's 2,000 cubits between you and the ark". Now, that is really amazing. That's about 3,000 feet, 2,000 cubits is about 3,000 feet, and God says to the people of Israel, all right, "Stand back. Don't come near the ark. Let the ark go in first".

Now, one of the reasons, I believe, is so that, when the River Jordan is slapped back all the way and they see the River Jordan open, they won't think it's them. It's not because of them. It's because of the ark. They have not even stepped in yet, and the 2,000 cubits... there's no insignificant detail in the Bible. Jesus came about 2,000-over years, listen carefully. You know, when the Bible says God gave the promise to Abraham, right, the promise that Jesus would come, guess what? Jesus's baptism in the River Jordan was about 2,000 years from Abraham. Now, there's something else for us as well. He went into the River Jordan, a picture of death.

Now, he didn't have to die, right? He don't have to die. He never sinned, so his death is all for us because he loved us, amen, but notice, for our time, we are also 2,000 years from the time of Jesus, amen. So, Jesus came 2,000 years after the promise was given to Abraham, and then, for us, we are now the generation, amen, that came 2,000 years after Jesus went to River Jordan, and I believe we are about to experience death being overcome, hallelujah, amen. I believe we're gonna see death put under our feet because the Bible says, "The last enemy that will be put under our feet is death," hallelujah. Praise the name of Jesus. Now, for a believer, when a believer dies, they don't experience death. Let me tell you this: Their hearts stop beating. Even if they are in an accident, in a crash, car crash, or whatever, I believe God takes them even before they experience anything. I believe God does that. There's no sting in the death anymore for the believer, amen? But then, our posture, the Bible says, is not to look to death, even physical death. We are to look to the Lord coming for us from heaven, amen, in the Rapture. Praise the name of Jesus.

So, I believe, 2,000 years after Jesus goes in the River Jordan, all right, we will step in, in the place of overcoming death because River Jordan speaks of death, amen, speaks of judgment. Jesus went in and cleared it for us, praise the Lord, cleared the death and the judgment to make a way for us to go through, hallelujah. There's another thing that happened. The Bible says, by the way, they were all crossing, and the priests holding the ark stood firm in the middle of the river while the people crossed. One by one, they all start crossing, amen. They all cross until all the 12 tribes has crossed. Notice here how the Bible says it, amen, "the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan".

I believe that all the people who are truly born again will completely make it to the other side, amen. You won't be lost. You know, I believe all those who are redeemed by the blood will end up with him, praise the Lord, amen, completely cross over, but again, I don't want you to have the idea that Canaan is a picture of heaven. It's not heaven because they had enemies there they had to fight, but the difference between the Red Sea and the Jordan River is that the Red Sea was the beginning of their wilderness journey whereas the Jordan River is the end of their wilderness journey, hallelujah, amen, amen. We understand this is the end of your wilderness journey.

You know, would to God that we had preachers of apostolic power and spiritual intelligence, who can preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness, I believe the people, Christians, will pass swiftly from Egypt to Canaan, amen, without having to wander for too long in the wilderness, but because of defective teaching and doctrine, amen, people are wandering, W-O, W-A, "wondering," "wandering," amen, and they're trying to find their way, but God never meant for them to wander. They wandered in unbelief, all right? So another thing, when they came out of Egypt, they came out, but they were not in, amen? This time around, when they crossed the River Jordan, they were in the Promised Land, hallelujah.

God didn't just bring you out to leave you out. God brought you out to bring you in. He brought them out, brought Israel out of Egypt, and "Egypt" in Hebrew it's "Mitsrayim". The word is "Mitsrayim," means "double stress," "double pressure". He brought you from a place of bondage, a place of stress, a place of darkness, amen? That's how all of us, when we got born again, he brought us from all that, out of all that, and he's gonna bring us in. Don't be satisfied to be delivered from. See what you are to be delivered unto, what you are separated unto, hallelujah, amen, and that's the teaching of the Jordan River and what we are separated unto is rest.

In the New Testament, God says, "My land is called land of rest". It's a place of rest, amen. What was a land for them, today for the believer is rest, amen. It's a place of inheritance. It's a place flowing... notice, not just it has milk and honey, which denotes it can be abundant, but superabundant, flowing with milk and honey. A place of abundance, a place of provision, a place where you will live in houses you did not build, you will drink from wells you did not dig, you will eat from vineyards you did not plant. What does that tell us? It's all based on the work of another. We enjoy rest, amen? Rest is not inactivity. Rest is a posture of faith in all the finished work of Jesus, and we enjoy it, amen.

One of the ways to show appreciation to the Lord is to thank the Lord for what he has done, amen. That's why Christians are always asking, asking, instead of realizing, their eyes being enlightened to realize what they already have and to thank God for it. Praise the name of Jesus. And, friend, we are separated unto freedom. When they step into the place, they are freed completely; out of bondage into freedom, amen, out of stress into a place of rest, hallelujah, a place of provision. Praise the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Now, listen, there's yet very much land to be possessed in the land of Canaan still, amen. Do you know when this whole thing happened? By the way, I need to say this. There's a principle of identification.

Just like God tells us to identify ourself in Christ, dead to sin, and then, Romans 7, dead to the law in Christ; likewise, the picture there is that Joshua took a man from every one of the 12 tribes to take from the River Jordan 12 stones. And every man carrying a heavy stone on his shoulder; the fact that the Bible says they're carrying a stone on their shoulder means it's a huge stone. It's heavy. They are carrying on their shoulder. And Joshua says, and this is what God commanded him, all right, to put it on the other side as a memorial, amen. And then, 12 stones on the wilderness side, all right, so that 12 stones from the River Jordan, amen, taken from the middle of the river to put on the other side as a memorial, and then on this side, amen, the 12 stones are taken from the wilderness to be put in the place where the stones were taken from in the middle of the river.

I believe they are still there today. Amen. But what is the picture of the 12 stones here and the 12 stones there? Well, it's identification. Twelve stones represent the twelve tribes of Israel, and it represents you and I, amen, the people of God. We have entered into death, amen, our old man went into death. It's finished, it's gone, praise the Lord, and we are risen in Christ on the other side of death, amen, into the Promised Land, praise the Lord, into our inheritance in Christ. And God says, "I want you to always remember that". So the 12 stones are there as a memorial. You know, my pastors and I, a number of years ago, we went to Gilgal, and we saw a place where it was shaped like, and they built it with stones. In fact, that's why Joshua said, look at what Joshua says this.

"Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal". So it's a place in Gilgal on the other side in the Promised Land near Jericho. That's where they put the 12 stones. Now, like I said, I was there, and the whole place, Gilgal, was like a shape of a shoe. That reminds you of what God said to Joshua. "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon shall be yours". And right somewhere in the center, there are a number of large stones. Now, that could very well be the stones that Joshua took from the Jordan River, okay, and it's still there, okay?

So I'm here to tell you, the truth is that on the other side, God is telling us, we are now resurrected people. Our old man is gone in the River Jordan, because the moment the priest... until everyone passed, until the very last person passed out of the 12 tribes, the last person passed, amen, when the priest came out of the river, boom, that whole flood, amen, that Jordan River came back in its full force and strength and covered the whole thing, amen. The time is coming when the invitation of grace will come to an end, and then the full judgment will come back. Amen. For those who believe will never see judgement because Christ removed judgment for us, but those who will not believe, there'll be a judgment, the day of vengeance of our God. The Bible talks about the coming of the Lord, amen, this time to set the world right. Praise God.

Now, friend, on the other side, we are now enjoying the resurrected life with Christ, praise the name of Jesus. And notice what happened. God says this: "Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: 'When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, "What are these stones"? then you shall let your children know, saying, "Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land".'"

You know, parents, I just want to say that it's important that you create memorials with your children. When you do something, like having communion, tell them the reason you are doing this, amen. When you celebrate Christmas or when you attend service, even online every Sunday, amen, tell them why it's important, why that day is dedicated to the Lord, why the Lord's day, Jesus rose on the Lord's day. Talk to them about all this because they are thinking, "Why is Sunday special with my parents? Why they want me to watch Rock Hits"? Amen, "Why do they want me to be involved in this"? Tell them you're building memorials because in the future, when they are faced with some challenge, amen, all this will come back to them. Praise the Lord.

And it's interesting that when Israel left Mount Sinai after they received the law, the Bible says, "The ark of the covenant went ahead". It's like, you know, the priest carried the ark of the covenant. He went ahead three days' journey to find a resting place for them. But at other times, in their wandering, the ark, for the most part, was in the center of their travel. So the 12 tribes are traveling; the ark is in the center. It reminds me of the way shepherds, you know, shepherd their sheep in Israel. Down through the years, even today, the Bedouins are still doing the same. You know, when the sun is shining, you find that the shepherd goes ahead, okay, they go in front, because the sheep can see them, and sheep need to see the shepherd. That's where they find their rest. That's where they are not afraid, amen, because they're even afraid of running waters, and that's why their shepherd has to find waters of quietness. Literally, the Hebrew word for still waters, "He leads me beside the still waters," is "waters of quietness". Menuchot mayim. Waters of quietness.

So you find that when the shepherd goes ahead of the sheep, the sheep is able to have confidence in seeing the shepherd and just follow the shepherd. But when it gets darker, even among the Bedouin shepherds today, you find that the shepherd will fall back, all right, into the middle of... and when it gets really dark, he'll be in the middle of the flock. He's there in the middle of the flock, okay, and he's talking all the time. It's very interesting, amen. When daytime, he's ahead where they can see them, but when it's nighttime, you can hardly see, he will fall back near, in the middle of the flock, and he's talking all the time, because when he's talking... you know, Justin asked me, "What he is talking"? You know, I said, "I do not know".

But you know, he's probably talking to the sheep, and he just probably makes some things up because sheep find reassurance just hearing his voice; Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice". No wonder when it's dark, when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you fear no evil, why? For he's no more in front; he's with you. He's with you. Praise the Lord. So the way the Lord leads Israel in the wilderness journey is very much like a shepherd would lead the flock, amen? Sometimes he'll be in front. Sometimes he'll be in the center, amen. Just like the ark of the covenant went in first. Two thousand cubits, amen. He went into death for all of us, amen, to lead the way for all of us. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

Now, this crossing of the Jordan River, do you know, the Bible tells us it took place on a certain day; and the Holy Spirit tells us when it happened. "Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month". Now, there are no insignificant details in the Bible, and that includes the date. The fact the Holy Spirit notes the date, God wants us to learn something from here. The tenth day of the first month is actually, the first month is the month of Nisan, all right, the Passover month in spring. Okay, the tenth day is when they choose the lamb, and then they'll keep the lamb in their house. On the fifth day, the lamb is killed. The fifth day is the Passover day, okay? So they'll keep the lamb for examination, amen, and then the lamb is killed.

So the crossing of the Jordan River took place on the tenth day, the choosing of the lamb. Why is this important? Why did the Holy Spirit signify this to us? Because Jesus entered Jerusalem. That triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus riding on the donkey was on the tenth day of the first month, was on the day they chose the Passover lamb. And he was there for five days for them to examine him in the temple, remember that? And they found no fault with him. They cannot catch him, even in his talk. They cannot find any sin in him. Instead, he healed the lame and the blind, hallelujah. And my friend, the tenth day was Jesus coming in triumphal entry. And what happened? The children were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David". And the people of God were shouting out, "Glory in the highest".

Let's follow the story. "And then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.' But He answered and said to them, 'I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.'" Now, there's something significant. For years, I cannot understand what he's referring to. What stones? He said, "The stones would immediately cry out". He didn't specify which stones. But if you know the day is the crossing, it is actually a commemoration also of the crossing of the Jordan River on the tenth day of the first month.

And Jesus entered on the tenth day of the first month as well into Jerusalem. And he's saying, the stones here, I believe, he's referring to the stones of memorial, the 12 stones of Jordan. He's telling them, "If all this should stop praising, the stones will cry out". Amen, amen. He's looking at you and I. They'll praise him. Praise the Lord. If Israel refused to praise him, we will praise him. Amen, the stones will cry out. So it's a picture of stones that are resurrected, amen, on the other side of the River Jordan. Praise God. He went on to say this: "Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it". And he wept over it. He's crying over the city, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day".

Notice this, "Especially in this your day," referring to the tenth day of the first month. This day is special. "The things that make for your shalom, for your peace," for your health, for your wellbeing, for your prosperity. "But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you," remember, maybe I need to say all this with a weeping tone, but don't forget he's crying when he says this. "And they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation". So he talk about the day, if only you knew that this day, how important this day is to your shalom, to your health, to your wellbeing, to your prosperity. And now these things are hidden, but instead, you're going to experience all kinds of terrible things because you knew not the time of your visitation.

Friend, do you know, you look at Daniel's prophecy. It tells you from the day the King decrees the rebuilding of Jerusalem, okay, from that day, you can actually count the day, all right, Daniel's prophecy, the seventieth week of Daniel, you'll find that it culminates in one day: exactly on the day Jesus entered Jerusalem. That triumphal entry of Jesus is exactly on that day. And if only Israel saw her Messiah; you know what's gonna happen if Israel said, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"? Some of them did, but the leadership did not, and they represent the whole nation, and they rejected Jesus. And he wept over the city because he knew it was going to happen. He saw the Romans coming in, destroying the temple, killing them, making many of them slaves. And he saw what was going to happen to them, and he wept over them, and probably even saw the future, amen, of all the sufferings that they would go through because they rejected their Messiah and their Savior. But he loves them, and that's why he wept over them, amen.

Friend, don't miss this, amen. Today, you are hearing this about the crossing of the Jordan River. Don't miss your day of visitation, your time of visitation. Visit what? With shalom peace, health, wholeness, wellbeing, amen, prosperity into your life. That's what shalom stands for. It's all these works, amen. And he's saying you missed it, you do not know that day, amen. More importantly, the significance of what happened on that day is not just a fulfillment of Daniel's, but he's telling them, "I am the one that fulfilled, amen, the ark of the covenant in the Jordan River on the tenth day of the first month. I am the one that Daniel pointed to. I am the one that can bring you freedom. I am the one that can bring you out of your Egypt. I am the one that can make you go through death without you suffering death. I am the one who will bring you to the other side with resurrected life, never to lose that life forever. I am the one who can make an end of all your sins, of all your sickness, all the way to the time of Adam and all that came in, all the distress that came in. I am the one that can free you from all that. I am the Messiah".

And if Israel accepted the Messiah, that very day, millennium would start from Israel. No one sick, no one broke, amen. It would start here, amen. It would start in Jerusalem. It will start, and it will permeate through the entire globe and in all the nations of the world. That's what God wanted it to be because when Jesus came, he says, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand". If you accept him, all heaven comes down, amen, with all his kingdom. When Jesus rules, amen, there can only be health where there was once sickness. There can only be peace where there was once distress. There can only be prosperity where there was lack and poverty. When Jesus rules, everything is right. It's like heaven on earth, and that's why it's called the kingdom of heaven. Praise the Lord.

I trust you've been blessed with this. I know you will not miss your time of visitation. And for believers that are watching this, you will take advantage of this time. I don't believe that it's by chance you are hearing this. Just like Jesus says, "The time of your visitation," amen. If you knew this day, the things that belong to your shalom, amen, and I trust that you see it, amen. That's why you are tuning in. You see it. But for anyone who says, "Pastor Prince, this is my first time hearing this gospel of Jesus Christ, and I want to put my trust in Christ. I don't want to be in Egypt. I want to be in the Promised Land. I don't want to be in bondage. I want to be in freedom". Hallelujah, and my friend, when the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. And if you want to put your trust in Christ, pray this prayer with me right now, amen. From your heart, say this:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of your Son, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ died on the cross for all my sins. He bore all my judgment, and he bore them clean away. Thank you, Father, that you raised him from the dead. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior. Now, all my sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus. I am now a new creation in Christ. Death and judgment are behind me. I look forward, Father, for a great life, life more abundant, life with you, in your safekeeping, in your love and your care, in Jesus's name.

Amen, praise the Lord. If you prayed that prayer, child of God, that's what you are now, you're a child of God. You've been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of his love. Hallelujah, amen. You are no more the old man. You are now the new man. You're no more in the flesh. You are now in the Spirit. Praise the Lord. Stand to your feet, amen, for the blessing.

This coming week, the grace, the favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with every one of you, amen. And the love of God, this wonderful love, cast out every fear, every despondency, every misery out of your heart, out of your family, out of your lives, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The love of God cast out fear. Hallelujah. And the love of God, this wonderful love, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, who leads you and guides you throughout this week, putting you at the right place at the right time, delivering you from the COVID-19 virus, putting you in the place where the profusive favors of God flow in your life, amen, like a mighty river, where you enjoy the good of the Promised Land. This week, not another time, this week, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and your families, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And all the people said, "Amen".