Jesus’ High Priesthood Is Forever

Jesus’ High Priesthood Is Forever

Hebrews 6:20 20… Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is our High Priest forever. This “forever” aspect changes the way we are blessed and how we receive our blessings from God. As our High Priest, Jesus represents us before God. Since His priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek, which is one of righteousness, His righteousness becomes our righteousness forever. This means that we are forever righteous in God’s eyes!

And because He will never die, but continue as our High Priest forever, we have an everlasting righteousness, not merely a here-today-gone-tomorrow righteousness based on our works. No, we have a perpetual and everlasting righteousness because Jesus is our High Priest forever.

This also means that blessings are perpetually on your head because the Bible says that blessings are on the head of the righteous (Proverbs 10:6), and you are righteous forever!

Unlike the priesthood according to the Levitical order, which blesses as well as curses, the priesthood of Jesus according to the Melchizedek order only blesses. There is no cursing, only blessing — always and forever!

And because Jesus is our High Priest forever, the blessings do not come to us in intermittent drips, but stream into our lives in a never-ending flow. Because He is our High Priest forever, we can never stop His blessings.

By being our High Priest forever, Jesus also touches the blessings that He gives us with a forever effect. He touches our lives and we have eternal life. He touches our ministry and its impact becomes eternal. And the more we see His priesthood as having a forever effect, the more permanent our blessings will be.

Truly, there is nothing temporal about what Jesus our High Priest does. It is not a case of blessed today, cursed tomorrow. The blessings we receive are sure and steadfast because Jesus is our High Priest today, tomorrow and forever.

So rejoice because Jesus your High Priest changes how you are blessed forever!

See God’s Goodness In The Midst Of Evil

See God’s Goodness In The Midst Of Evil

Matthew 2:13 13… an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

God does not play a game of counterattack with the devil — the devil does something bad, then God steps in to bring something good out of it. The truth is, when something bad happens, it is the devil reacting to something good that God has started. The Lord once told me, “Tell My people that if they want to understand what I am doing, just look at what the devil is doing and see it in reverse. That is what I am doing, multiplied many times over.”

I see this truth in the Bible. When Christ was born, soldiers were sent to kill all baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem. The folks in Bethlehem then would have seen only evil. But there were those like Mary who saw God’s goodness. They knew that God had sent a Savior into the world! The killing of the infants was just the devil’s reaction to the gift of salvation that God had sent.

The Lord showed me that this was how we were to look at the bird flu when it hit our region not too long ago. While I was pondering the significance of birds, the Lord showed me Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

If God takes care of the birds, how much more will He take care of you! So, by attacking the birds with disease, the devil is, in essence, reacting to God’s provision for His people. In other words, he saw that God’s provision had already been released on His people in a big way!

With every new virus that the devil throws at us, you must discern that the devil is trying to pervert and reverse what God is already doing. Then, you will know that something good is going to come out of it. You see, every new strain of virus tells us that God has already released a new anointing of health for His people. And I believe that He releases new levels of increase for His people too. So don’t just see the evil. See the good that God is already doing!

Jesus, Your Good Shepherd And Door

Jesus, Your Good Shepherd And Door

John 10:7 7Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

Jesus said that He is the “door of the sheep”. What did He mean? Well, a sheepfold during Jesus’ time had no door which could be opened and closed. The door of the sheepfold was just an opening. In this kind of sheepfold, after the sheep had entered it, the shepherd would sleep at the entrance. The shepherd became, effectively, the “door” of the sheepfold.

When Jesus told His disciples, “I am the good shepherd,” (John 10:11) He also assured them emphatically that He was the “door of the sheep”. He was telling them and us, “Inside My sheepfold, My sheep are always safe, completely protected and kept close under My watchful eyes. And since I am just at the entrance of the sheepfold, nothing, not even the muffled bleat of one of My own, can escape My ears. Also, nothing evil outside the sheepfold can enter and touch My sheep without first coming through Me for I am the door of My sheep.”

So when the fight of life comes knocking on your door and when panic threatens to rise within you, see yourself doubly protected! He is both the good shepherd and the door of His sheep. As your good shepherd, He gave His life for you to redeem you from poverty, sickness and every other curse.

As your door, He keeps out everything evil that He has redeemed you from. Because He shed His blood for you, you are covered and protected within the sheepfold by a blood-stained door. Disaster, destruction and death must pass over you and your family because of His blood on your door. Remember that on the night of the first Passover in Egypt, the destroyer could not enter the houses of the Israelites because of the blood of the lamb on their doors. (Exodus 12:13, 23)

Today, you can live life untroubled and unafraid, knowing that Jesus, your good shepherd and door, protects and preserves you and your family. No evil will befall you or your loved ones because He is your dwelling place and refuge!

There Is No Spot In You

There Is No Spot In You

Song Of Solomon 4:7 7You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you.

Jesus tells us His bride, “You are all fair, My love, and there is no spot in you.” But our reply to Him tends to be, “Me? All fair and no spot? You don’t know me, Lord!”

Do you really think that God doesn’t know you?

God sees reality like no one else sees it. He sees the perfection of His Son’s finished work in your life. By one offering of Himself at the cross, Jesus has perfected you forever! (Hebrews 10:14) You have been made the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21) And you will never find any spot in this righteousness that Jesus died to give you.

So God wants you to see yourself righteous — all fair and spotless in Christ. Every day, be conscious of your righteousness in Christ. Say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ. There is no spot in me whom He has perfected with His blood.” When you do that, you are honoring Jesus and His finished work.

If you are conscious of your sins, then you are not honoring the work of Christ. You may think that you are being humble or holy by being sin-conscious. But do you know that the Bible calls sin-consciousness an “evil conscience”?

Hebrews 10:21–22 tells us that since we have Jesus as our High Priest, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience”. What does the writer of Hebrews mean by “an evil conscience”? If you read the beginning of the same chapter, you will find that he is talking about a “consciousness of sins”. (Hebrews 10:2) Paul calls it a “conscience seared with a hot iron”. (1 Timothy 4:2) The Greek word for “seared” here is kauteriazo, and it means to carry about with you a perpetual consciousness of sin.

So don’t carry with you an evil or seared conscience. Your lifetime of sins has already been punished fully in the body of Jesus at the cross. Be conscious, instead, of your perfection and righteousness in Christ. Because of what Jesus has done for you, you can boldly declare, “I am all fair. There is no spot in me!”

Don’t Sweat Over Loss Or Waste

Don’t Sweat Over Loss Or Waste

Luke 15:22–23 22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;

What would you say if your son, whom you had given a large inheritance to, came crawling home one day after wasting all his money on riotous living?

In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–24), the father did not say one word about loss or waste, though his son had indeed wasted his inheritance on riotous living. The father only saw his son’s homecoming as an opportunity to show him how much he loved him and to restore to him what he had lost.

Like the father in the parable, it is your heavenly Father’s desire to embrace you and show you how much you are loved. And it is His good pleasure to restore to you what you have lost.

Perhaps you have lost something recently, or you are frustrated that something has gone to waste due to a bad decision you made. My friend, God does not see the finality of the loss or waste the way you do. When you come to Him with it, He sees it as an opportunity to restore to you what has been lost or wasted.

Even if, like the prodigal son, you feel far away from your heavenly Father, or you feel that you have disappointed Him, don’t despair. The truth is that the moment you come to Him, He immediately restores to you the robe of honor to clothe your nakedness, the ring of authority to declare your position of power and dominion, and the sandals on your feet (which servants do not wear) to reinstate you as a son in His house.

He reassures you that you had never lost the position of sonship. And He celebrates your return to Him with the killing of a fatted calf because you are His beloved child whom He cherishes.

Beloved, in your Father’s house, you not only come under His complete protection, but you also enjoy His inexhaustible provision and unconditional love!

The Good Life Without The Sweat

The Good Life Without The Sweat

Matthew 6:26 26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Most people are of the opinion that the good life does not happen without hard work and buckets of sweat. They believe that to achieve success, you first need to have this educational certificate, that professional qualification, this particular job and that many years of hard work. I have good news for you: God has a better way.

We all must work, but the world wants you to believe that there is a natural process of sowing, reaping and gathering, accompanied by waiting, toiling and stress, before the good life actually comes. But God says, “My people do not need to go through this natural process to enjoy the good life for they are not of this world’s system. They can operate out of My economy and I can give them the good life straightaway!”

In the same way that God feeds the birds which do not go through the sowthen-reap-then-gather system of the world, He wants to and will do much more for you!

Your heavenly Father wants you to know the generosity of His heart toward you and how much He wants to make you successful. A case in point is what happened to a church member who believed this truth. After leaving his previous job, he trusted God to provide him with a better one. Within just four months, he found himself heading two companies.

His newly formed distribution company not only clinched a major project in Singapore, but was also made the principal distributor in Southeast Asia for a popular line of products from the United States. His second company, which provided consultancy services, was given two projects by a Korean and a Hong Kong company for a large consultancy fee in US dollars.

Today, God wants you to know that you are not of the world’s system. You are of the kingdom of God — the same kingdom that feeds the birds that do not toil, but simply trust their Creator for all their provisions in life. Be convinced that you are of more value to your heavenly Father than the birds, and let Him give you the good life without the toiling and laboring of the world.

Let Jesus Wash Your Feet

Let Jesus Wash Your Feet

John 13:8 8Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him,
“If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Can you imagine the Lord wanting to wash your feet? Peter could not. His shocked reaction — “Lord, how can you wash my feet!” — would probably be ours too.

I want you to notice what the Lord said to him: “Peter, if I don’t wash your feet, you have no part with Me.” What the Lord was actually saying to Peter was, “Peter, you cannot flow together with Me, you cannot walk together with Me in ministry, in service and in effectiveness, if you don’t let Me wash your feet.” So Peter said, “Lord, [wash] not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” (John 13:9)

But Jesus answered him saying, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean…” (John 13:10)

Once we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are bathed all over, and cleansed by His blood once and for all eternity! His blood has perfected us forever (Hebrews 10:14), and we only need to wash our feet because we walk in the world and our feet pick up dust and dirt, causing us to stumble.

So how is Jesus washing our feet today? Ephesians 5:25–26 tells us that “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word”.

We, the church, are cleansed with the washing of water by the Word. The more we come under anointed teaching that unveils Christ through the Word, the more the cleansing goes on. And as our feet are washed, instead of stumbling, we will be walking and even running!

Today, though high and lifted up in heaven, Jesus is dressed in a robe with a golden girdle around his chest. (Revelation 1:13) Like a servant who uses his girdle as a towel to serve, Jesus wants us to sit down and let Him serve us — by washing our feet with a deeper revelation of Himself through His Word. Beloved, this is what gives us victory in our daily walk!

Start Using Your Measure Of Faith

Start Using Your Measure Of Faith

Romans 12:3 3… God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

As children of God, we should never say, “I don’t have any faith.” To say this is to say that God is a liar because His Word already tells us that “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith”.

Why then does the faith of some seem to be stronger than others?

Well, faith is like muscles. We are all born with a measure of muscles. But some of us develop our muscles better than others. Bodybuilders, for example, exercise their muscles very regularly to make them grow bigger and stronger.

Likewise, your measure of faith grows when you feed and use it. Each time you hear or read God’s Word, you are feeding your faith. When you confess God’s Word and expect good things to happen to you, you are using it. And the more you use it, the more your faith grows.

So use your faith. You could start with headaches, for example. When you have a headache, instead of always running straight for your painkillers, use your faith. Ask God for healing, and trust and thank Him for the healing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with taking medicine. And if you have to go to the doctor, don’t feel condemned either. Just start using your faith at a level you are comfortable with. If you need to go to the doctor, then go in faith, praying, “Abba Father, I am going to the doctor. I am asking You in Jesus’ name to give the doctor wisdom to give me an accurate diagnosis. My trust is not in him but in You.”

And when you take your medicine, don’t just pop in the pills. In faith, say, “Lord, sanctify this medicine,” then take it. This is because some medicines have negative side effects. So when you ask God to sanctify it, He blesses that medicine. And what will be developing in you, growing bigger and possessing your body until it is too widespread, is divine health!

Beloved, you have been given a measure of faith. Start using it, believing that it is this measure of your faith that causes you to draw from the inexhaustible power of a faithful and loving God!

When It Is More Blessed To Receive

When It Is More Blessed To Receive

Luke 10:42 42… Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

If Jesus comes to your home, what would you do? Would you ask Him to sit down and then start serving Him? Or would you sit down and start drawing from Him? Would you let Him serve you and fill you up?

Jesus walked into the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. (Luke 10:38) Martha saw His weariness. She knew that Jesus had been walking for miles, going about doing good, healing the sick and meeting the people’s needs. Obviously, He must be tired, she thought, so she saw Him as someone she had to care for.

Mary, however, saw beyond Jesus’ external weariness into His divinity. She saw that He was someone she needed to draw from. And by doing that, she made Him feel like God — the Savior who had come to serve her and not to be served by her. (Matthew 20:28) Jesus even commended her for choosing the better portion!

Our human minds just find that hard to believe. Some people tell me, “But Pastor Prince, the Bible says that it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) When it comes to man, that is true. But when it comes to God, He wants to give. In fact, unless you learn how to receive from God, you will have nothing to give to man.

Which sister gave Jesus the sweeter feast and filled Him up? Martha who was busy preparing food for Him? Or Mary who sat still and drew deeply from Him? It was Mary. She made Jesus feel a sense of His divine glory. She allowed Jesus to be the giver, to be God.

Like Martha, we always reverse the roles. We somehow think that God needs our service, but He actually wants to fill us first. Mary’s ears and heart were more precious to Jesus than Martha’s hands and feet.

We use our ears and hearts to draw from Jesus. We use our hands and feet to serve Him, and there is a place for that. But our sense and appreciation of God’s divine fullness is more precious to Him than all the service we can render Him. And when you draw from Him, you cannot help but become a great giver and server.

Seek First God’s Kingdom

Seek First God’s Kingdom

Matthew 6:31–33 31“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

As a child of God, know that it is your Father’s pleasure to meet all your needs. Jesus Himself tells us, “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” But God does not want you to seek after things. He wants you to seek first His kingdom. And when you do that, all the things that you need will be added to you!

So your first priority every day is to seek His kingdom. The word “first” in verse 33 is the Greek word proton, which means “first in order or importance, holding the highest place in all our affections”. My friend, God wants us to seek first His kingdom, and all things will fall gloriously in place.

We are not to seek after things the way Gentiles do. The word “seek” in “the Gentiles seek” (verse 32) is the Greek word epizeteo. It means “to seek with all their might with much sweat or with much stress”. However, the way God wants us to “seek” in “seek first the kingdom of God” is the Greek word zeteo, which means “to hunger, to desire to worship”. It is simply a hungering, a desiring for the kingdom of God, without any labor or toil.

But what is the kingdom of God? Romans 14:17 tells us that it is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And the kingdom of God dwells within you because the Holy Spirit indwells you. So the kingdom of God is His righteousness, peace and joy in you.

Beloved, if you want to have peace and joy in the Holy Spirit flowing inside you, then seek every day to be conscious of your righteousness in Christ, not your own righteousness, but His righteousness given to you as a gift. Pursue Jesus first. Spend time with Him and listen to His Word. And when you do these things, you are seeking His kingdom and His righteousness, and all the things that you need will be added to you!

Jesus, Our True Passover Lamb

Jesus, Our True Passover Lamb

Exodus 12:3 3… every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.

Jews worldwide celebrate the Passover feast. The feast, which has been kept for generations, commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. (Exodus 12:14) The night before the Israelites left Egypt, the destroyer went through the land killing the firstborn of man and beast. Only those households with the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts were spared.

God had told the Israelites, “Take a lamb, a lamb for a household.” It was a lamb for each family. This tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our true Passover Lamb, is for whole families to be saved!

So your children are blessed once you receive Jesus. Your unsaved spouse and grandparents are blessed too, because Jesus is now the Lamb for your whole household. Your unsaved loved ones will enjoy the blessings of the saved. The Bible says that the sanctified will sanctify the unsanctified. (1 Corinthians 7:14) Yes, they will still need to personally receive Jesus as their Savior, but God has marked them for salvation because you are saved!

Now, each household took a lamb which God said had to be without blemish. Why? Because the lamb typified Jesus, the true Lamb of God, who is without sin. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

The lamb was then killed, and its blood put on the two doorposts and lintel of the house (Exodus 12:7), such that it speaks of the cross. Today, the destroyer has to pass over every family that believes in the finished work of Jesus at the cross and puts its faith in His blood, because there has already been a death. The blood proves it — the innocent Lamb for the guilty family!

Jesus also celebrated the Passover the night before He was crucified. But He was instituting the greater Passover. This time, it was not deliverance from Pharaoh and Egypt, but from Satan and his kingdom of darkness! It was not deliverance from slavery in Egypt, but from a life of bondage to sin to a life of liberty as free men in Christ!

Beloved, Jesus, the Lamb of God, sacrificed Himself to set you free. And when the Son sets you free, you are free indeed!

Don’t Look Inside The Ark

Don’t Look Inside The Ark

1 John 2:2 2And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins,
and not for ours only but also for the whole world..

In the movie, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the people who tried to look inside the ark were struck dead. What was inside the ark that brought judgment to those who looked into it?

The Bible tells us that the ark held the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod. (Hebrews 9:4) These items were tokens of man’s rebellion. The two tablets of the Ten Commandments represented man’s rejection of God’s standards. The manna represented man’s rejection of God’s provision, and Aaron’s rod, man’s rejection of God’s appointed priesthood.

God did not want to look at these tokens of rebellion. He wanted to be merciful to His people, so He instructed them to place the items in the ark and to cover the ark with its mercy seat, which is also the place where the blood of the animal sacrifices was sprinkled.

Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to sprinkle on the mercy seat the blood of the animal that had been sacrificed. The two cherubim on the mercy seat stood as guardians of God’s righteousness and holiness.

Representing God’s eyes too, they looked at the blood on the mercy seat. As long as the blood was there, the entire nation of Israel was forgiven. God’s judgment passed over them and they were blessed for another year. (Leviticus 16)

Today, the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat is not the blood of bulls and goats, but the precious, eternal blood of the Son of God! (Hebrews 9:12) Jesus is our “mercy seat” for “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world”. The word “propitiation” in the original Greek text is the same word as “mercy seat”. (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:5)

Beloved, God does not see your sins and count them against you because He sees His Son’s blood. He sees His Son’s perfect work that has more than satisfied Him. God does not want you to see your sins either. He does not want you to look inside the ark by focusing on your sins. He wants you to focus on Christ and His finished work!

Prayers That Proclaim

Prayers That Proclaim

Luke 13:12 12But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her,
“Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”

When you have a need, do you pray or do you plead? Do you begin your prayers with words like, “Please God, please! God, I beg You to have mercy!”

Prayers that plead and beg imply that your heavenly Father is not willing to do it. Yet, He is far more gracious and willing to give to you than you are willing to ask, think or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) He desires above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. (3 John 1:2)

In fact, long before you have a need, God has already met that need. Long before you knew you needed a Savior, He sent His Son to be your Savior. This is your God! He is a good God. So when you beg Him for something, you are actually saying that He is reluctant to give and needs to be persuaded strongly before He will move. Yet, He is not like that.

Jesus knew the heart of the Father. When He saw the woman bound with a spirit of infirmity, He did not pray, “Oh Father! She has been suffering for 18 long years! I beseech You, Father, have mercy on her. Please, please heal her!” No, when Jesus saw her, He immediately proclaimed, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity,” because He knew the heart of the Father. He knew that the Father wanted her delivered from her crippling condition.

At the end of a church service, I don’t stand and pray, “Oh God, please bless Your people. Oh God, do keep them. Oh God, be ever so gracious to them!” Instead, I proclaim, “The Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you!”

Beloved, when you pray, proclaim your healing, protection and provision because your Father’s heart overflows with love for you. And when you declare it, He sanctions it. When you declare it, He establishes it!

Call It Forth!

Call It Forth!

Romans 4:17 17… God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things
which do not exist as though they did;

“Pastor Prince, I feel the pain in my body. How can I go around saying that Christ has redeemed me from this sickness? How can I say that by His stripes I am healed?”

Well, God’s way is to call those things that are not as though they are. And because you are made in God’s image, you can also call those things that are not as though they are!

When God wanted to make Abraham a father of many nations, what did He do? He changed the way Abraham talked. At that time, Abraham did not even have a single child from Sarah because she was barren. So how could he become a father of many nations?

God changed the way he talked. How? By changing his name from Abram to Abraham, which means “father of many nations”. (Genesis 17:5)

Just imagine: From then on, every time he met someone, he would say, “Hi, my name is Father Of Many Nations.” Every time dinner was ready, Sarah would call out to Abraham, “Darling… Father Of Many Nations… dinner is ready! Father Of Many Nations…” You can just hear their neighbors saying, “They want a child so much they have gone mad!” But God changed the way Abraham talked so that he called forth what God saw him already blessed with.

You know, when Jesus saw the man with a withered hand, He didn’t say, “My goodness! It is so withered!” He said, “Stretch out your hand!” (Matthew 12:13) He called forth what He wanted. He looked at the paralytic and said, “Rise, take up your bed and go home!” (Matthew 9:6) He didn’t see the way it was in the natural. He saw the way God meant it to be and He called it forth.

Genesis 1 tells us that in the beginning, there was darkness over the face of the whole earth. God saw the darkness and He said, “Light be!” And light was. God called forth what He wanted and it became so! If it had been me or you, we would probably have said, “Whoa! It is so dark!”

My friend, despite the pain, call forth your healing. It is pointless to state the obvious. So change the way you talk. See the way God meant it to be, and start calling forth your healing and wholeness!

Receive The Word God Has Sent To Heal You

Receive The Word God Has Sent To Heal You

Psalm 107:20 20He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Your Bible will do you no good if you leave it on your bedside table, gathering dust. It will do you no good if you hold it like a teddy bear when you are facing your “giants”. But God’s Word will do you a lot of good when you receive it as truth and speak it as truth! Then, you will see your healing and deliverance from every evil condition that has been sent to destroy you!

The Bible says that “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions”. Now, when God wants to heal you, what does He do? He sends His Word. Before God delivers you from your destruction, He sends His Word.

Are you still waiting to experience the blessing of healing that Jesus died on the cross to give you? Don’t feel condemned. Your Father in heaven loves you and wants you well. But how does your healing come? By you receiving His Word on healing that He has already sent you. His promises of healing are all there in your Bible. But have you received them?

During one of our church services, a lady took out her cell phone and started sending text messages of every scripture and almost every key point that I was preaching that day to her friend who was at home dying of cancer. I was telling the congregation to keep confessing the healing scriptures over their bodies, no matter how bad their conditions were. I pointed them to Isaiah 53:5, which says, “By His stripes we are healed.” The lady got so excited that she told her friend to keep believing and confessing it every day!

Her friend, on reading the text messages, simply received the Word of God and confessed it by faith. That very same week, when she went back to the doctor, the doctor could not find a single trace of cancer in her body!

Never underestimate the power of God’s Word. The lady’s friend was healed because she received God’s Word by faith. She gladly read the messages that her friend had sent her, was encouraged by the Word, confessed it and received her miracle. God sent His Word and healed her, and saved her from her destruction!

Taught By God Himself

Taught By God Himself

Hebrews 8:11 11None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the
Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

As a parent or someone serving in Sunday school, you may think that the children under your care are too young to know the Lord. And you wonder if you are wasting your time reading Bible stories and singing hymns to them.

Or you may have been buying Mandarin and Hokkien sermon CDs for your dialect-speaking parents or grandparents, and you wonder if the Bible teachings are too difficult for them to understand.

My friend, don’t underestimate the Holy Spirit. Many elderly folks in our Mandarin and Hokkien services, who first heard about Jesus through the recorded messages given to them by their children, are now born again and attending church regularly. And they are so full of Jesus that they cannot stop talking about Him to their relatives and friends.

Even for a young child like my daughter Jessica, when she was one year old, she would spontaneously raise her hands whenever she heard Christian songs, but not secular ones. My wife Wendy and I had never taught her how to recognize Christian songs. The only explanation we have is that Jessica was taught by the Lord Himself. (Isaiah 54:13)

When Jessica turned two, she surprised us again. Wendy was tucking her in bed one night when Jessica looked at her and said, “Jesus died for Jessica because Jesus loves Jessica.” No one taught her to say that. But I remember looking at her when she was younger and by faith saying, “You know, darling, Jesus died for Jessica.” She just looked at me and I did not know whether she understood me then. I just believed that the Holy Spirit is a better teacher than I am.

So don’t limit the Holy Spirit by saying things like, “The children are too young… My grandparents are not well-educated… My atheist friend won’t be interested…” Just send God’s Word into their lives by faith, and trust the Holy Spirit to do the teaching and imparting. For God says that no one has to teach anyone to know the Lord because all shall know Him, from the least, including little children, to the greatest!

Choose The Good Part And Be Blessed

Choose The Good Part And Be Blessed

Isaiah 48:17 17… “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit,
who leads you by the way you should go.

God instructs us for our own benefit. He wants us to profit in every area of our lives — health, finances, career, marriage and family relationships. The Bible says that it is God who teaches us to profit. And it is He who leads us in the way that we should go.

God always has our best interests at heart. We only have to sit at His feet, listen to His Word and just have fresh, daily communion with Him, and He will make our way fruitful. (Psalm 1:2-3)

But we are constantly bombarded with things to do every day, like sending the kids to school, attending a business meeting or making a sales presentation. Likewise, in church, there are just as many important things to attend to — ministering to the needy, reaching out to the lost and healing the sick. But you know what? All these things will be taken care of when we sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His Word.

What was the Lord’s response to Martha’s complaint that her sister was sitting at His feet and listening to Him, instead of helping her with the many tasks? “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41–42)

Yet, many of us are like Martha. We worry about many things. And we are so busy that we have no time to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to His Word and enjoy communion with Him. When we fail to draw from Him, we end up running on our own strength, and relying on our own flesh and wisdom to get things done. Listen, you can never have a plan that is better than God’s!

My friend, do you want to be led by God’s wisdom and timing in your decision-making? Then, make it a point to choose the good part like Mary did. Spend time with Jesus, open your Bible and say, “Lord, speak to me.” You will find that your heavenly Father takes care of your troubles, and teaches and leads you!

God Wants Your Household Saved

God Wants Your Household Saved

Acts 16:31 31So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you will be saved, you and your household.”

When God got you saved, He didn’t just have you in mind. He had your whole family in mind. That is why His Word says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Now, this does not mean that once you believe in Jesus, your family members are automatically saved. What it means is that you have opened a big door for God to move into your family’s life and to touch every member of your family!

So don’t worry about your unsaved parents or grandparents. God knows how to reach out to them. A relative of mine spoke only Cantonese, and could not go to church because she was very old and her legs were weak. But Jesus appeared to her in a vision and spoke to her in perfect Cantonese! She had never encountered Jesus, but knew that it was Him and understood what He said to her. After that, those who visited and spoke with her were amazed by her knowledge of Jesus.

Even up to the very last moment, God will reach out to your unsaved family members. This happened to my late maternal grandfather who used to make fun of me being a Christian. On his deathbed, he was gasping for air and in great discomfort. He couldn’t die peacefully. My mother, who was with him, told him, “Dad, just say, ‘God, forgive me.’ Call on Jesus.” My grandfather remained hardened and in great pain. But at the very last moment, he cried out, “Jesus, forgive me!”

You see, my grandfather had no time to pray the sinner’s prayer. But God says that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”. (Acts 2:21) Jesus will find every excuse to save a person. My mother saw the peace of God come upon my grandfather’s face after he had called out to Jesus, and he passed away peacefully.

My friend, God’s desire is for your entire household to be saved. Right now, your family may be giving you a hard time, but because you are a Christian, a big door has been opened for your Daddy God in heaven to touch them!

God Still Performs Miracles

God Still Performs Miracles

John 11:40 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would
believe you would see the glory of God?”.

God, who parted the Red Sea, rained manna from heaven, caused the walls of Jericho to fall, shut the lions’ mouths, healed the sick, raised the dead and calmed the sea, still performs miracles today.

However, some Christians doubt that God wants to work a miracle for them today. They believe that there were miracles when Jesus walked the earth, but they think that the day of miracles is over. And they talk about how everything will be perfect one day in the sweet by and by. But God wants us to know that He is still the God of miracles today.

Martha was like one of those Christians. She wondered if Jesus could perform a miracle when her brother Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. So she thought that Jesus was four days too late. That is why she said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21) And even when Jesus said that Lazarus would rise again, she said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:24)

Martha believed that Jesus could perform miracles in the past and would do the same in the future, but she did not believe that He could give her a miracle when she needed it right then. You see, Martha was someone who lived wishing that the past could be changed and believing that the future would be better. But she did not believe that the “I Am” was there to meet her present need.

Today, God stands at the point of your need. What miracle do you need from Him? Believe that He is still the same miracle-working God today. Believe that you will see the glory of God. Believe and you will see your miracle!

How You Know You Will Inherit It

How You Know You Will Inherit It

Psalm 89:34 34My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.

When God promises you something, do you take Him at His Word? Or do you, like Abraham, ask, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” (Genesis 15:8)

God did not reprimand Abraham for failing to take Him at His Word. That is how gracious God is to His people. He even came down to Abraham’s level of faith and did something to assure Abraham that He would always keep His promises — He made a covenant with Abraham. (Genesis 15:9–17)

God did not do it for His own benefit. God is a God of His Word. He does not break His Word. But He bound Himself to a covenant because He knew that Abraham needed to know in his heart that God would do whatever He had promised him.

Man finds it hard to just believe words. For example, when you buy a house, a contract is drawn up and signed by both parties, and lawyers are involved. You need a contract because you cannot trust the other person’s words and he cannot trust yours either.

Likewise, we find it hard to take God at His Word. So God made a covenant with us, not because He cannot be trusted, but because He knows that we find it hard to just believe what He says. God knows that man will wonder, “What if God wakes up on the wrong side of His bed tomorrow and decides to fry me instead of bless me?”

But because God has made a new covenant with us, which is established by the blood of His Son, we can, like Abraham, not waver through unbelief regarding the promises of God, but be strengthened in our faith, being fully persuaded that God will do as He has promised. (Romans 4:20–21) We have the assurance that God will not wake up one day and say, “Forget the new covenant. I want to remember your sins now and curse you instead of bless you!”

My friend, the new covenant blessings for you are guaranteed because God has bound Himself to the covenant. And He is a covenant-keeping God who is willing and more than able to do everything He has promised you!

All That Jesus Is Before God, You Are

All That Jesus Is Before God, You Are

2 Corinthians 5:21 21For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

When an Israelite brings an animal as his sin offering, he lays his hand on it before killing it. (Leviticus 4:1–4) By laying his hand on the sin offering, his sins are transferred to the innocent animal. The animal dies for his sins and he goes free.

In contrast, during the burnt offering, when the Israelite lays his hand on the animal (Leviticus 1:3–4), the beauty, worthiness and acceptance of the unblemished animal are transferred to him. God accepts the perfection of the animal sacrifice on his behalf to make atonement for him. Because God accepts the unblemished burnt offering, the offerer now has right standing before God.

Do you know that the two offerings speak of Jesus’ one offering of Himself when He hung on the cross? He is both our sin offering and burnt offering — “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us [as our sin offering], that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [as our burnt offering]”. The moment you put your faith in Him, just by His one sacrifice, your sins were transferred to Him, and His righteousness was transferred to you. That is the grace of God toward you!

As our sin offering, He offered Himself once and for all. (Romans 6:10) The sin offering was never a daily offering because God does not want His people to be sin-conscious. However, the burnt offering was both a morning and evening sacrifice (2 Chronicles 13:11) because God wants His people to be righteousnessconscious.

Beloved, God wants you to lay claim daily to Jesus as your burnt offering and say, “Father, I thank You that Jesus is my burnt offering. All that Jesus is before You — His righteousness, excellence, beauty and perfection — has been transferred to me. Jesus has Your unclouded favor, so I enjoy Your unclouded favor in my life. Jesus is the righteousness of God, so I am the righteousness of God in Christ. As He is before You, so am I.”

Because Jesus became your burnt offering, what He is to the Father today, you are! That is what it means to be in Christ.

Count On God’s Forgiveness

Count On God’s Forgiveness

Hebrews 10:2 2... For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.

What are you more conscious of today? Your sins or the fact that you have been forgiven? My friend, don’t be conscious of your sins. Be conscious instead of Jesus and His finished work. The Lamb of God has taken away all your sins at the cross, so count on the fact that you are a forgiven child of God!

No matter what has happened or what you have done, God wants you to know that because of His Son’s finished work, He will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12)

That is why you should not be conscious of your sins. In fact, when you are sin-conscious, the devil brings in condemnation, and the more you receive it and condemn yourself, the more you will find yourself unforgiving toward yourself and even others.

I was told by a pastor friend that when a lady, who had cancer on her face, asked for prayer for healing, the Lord revealed to him that it was self-hatred that was keeping her from receiving her healing. She could not forgive herself and was full of self-condemnation.

When she realized her problem, she counted on the fact that God was merciful to her unrighteousness and that she was already forgiven. She received the love of God. Then, right before the pastor’s eyes, her whole face changed — she received her healing that very moment!

Something happens when you believe that you are forgiven. That is why God says to you, “I want you to believe that all your sins I will remember no more. I want you to believe that you are My child enjoying My mercy and that you can always count on My forgiveness.”

Beloved, remember that all your sins have already been paid for by Jesus on the cross. And the more you count on the fact that you have the Father’s forgiveness and that He does not condemn you because of Jesus’ finished work, the more sin and its effects — sickness, hatred, lack and so on — will lose their grip on you. You will find yourself walking in a greater measure of God’s grace and blessings!

God Is Your Strength

God Is Your Strength

Ephesians 6:10 10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

When you say, “I can manage this problem by myself, Lord,” God says, “Okay, you do it then.” But when you say, “Help me, Lord! I need You. I cannot do this on my own,” God says, “Good, I have been waiting for you to say that. You cannot, but I can. Now, watch Me!” That is how God is — He loves it when you depend on Him.

You see, when you think that you are strong and don’t need God, He cannot help you. But when you need Him and look to Him, He will not leave you weak and helpless. He comes and becomes the strength of your life. He becomes the breakthrough that you need.

A church member with a smoking habit came to me one day and said, “Pastor Prince, please pray that God will help me. I want to stop my smoking habit.”

I told him simply, “You cannot, but God can.”

He replied, “Yes, I know that I can’t. But with God’s help, I will discipline myself and try my best to quit the habit.”

I told him, “No, you cannot, but God can.” I repeated this to him a few times until he realized that it was not his self-discipline or willpower that would help him overcome his smoking habit, but the power of God. He finally understood that true deliverance from this destructive habit would not come by his own strength, but by “[being] strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”.

When I saw him again a few weeks later, he said, “Pastor Prince, since that day, I didn’t even try to stop myself from smoking. But each time I lit up, I told God, ‘I cannot, but You can.’ Then one day, the craving was gone! Jesus has completely delivered me from my bondage to nicotine!” This man experienced true deliverance, not just an outward form of discipline and willpower.

So when you say, “I can do something about it,” you are still relying on your human strength. But when you say to God, “I cannot, but You can,” you have just tapped into the real source of your strength — Jesus. And as you rest in His strength, you will see His power manifesting in your life!

Your Advocate Always Wins Your Case

Your Advocate Always Wins Your Case

1 John 2:1 1My little children, these things I write to you, so that
you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an
Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

If you want a glimpse of some real-life celestial drama, picture this: God the Father sits as Judge of the universe with Jesus Christ at His right hand, who is not only your High Priest, but also your Advocate.

When your accuser, the devil, comes along and says, “You have done this wrong and you have not done that right,” Jesus says, “Father, the devil is right, but My blood has paid for what the devil is accusing him of.”

Then the devil adds, “You have also not been reading the Bible or praying enough. And this morning, you told a lie.”

Again, Jesus will say, “Father, the devil has indeed reported correctly, but My blood has paid for all these failures.”

God the Father will then slam the gavel on the sound block and say, “Case dismissed! Next!”

You need to understand that God can justly declare you innocent and completely righteous because Jesus took your place at the cross, and shed His blood to pay for your sins and condemnation. (2 Corinthians 5:21) God is simply being faithful and just to what Christ has done.

When Jesus rose from the grave, He rose as your Advocate, your lawyer. But unlike most earthly lawyers who take on cases because it serves their interests and wallets, He is a lawyer who is personally interested in your happiness and wellbeing. Unlike earthly lawyers who are not caught up in the feelings and sufferings of their clients, Jesus went through great sufferings for you and paid with His own life so that you can receive all the blessings of God.

As your Advocate today, Jesus ensures that what He died and suffered to give you, you get! In heaven today, He defends and represents you to ensure that the healing, wholeness, protection and other blessings that He died to give you are enforced in your life. Beloved, have confidence in and rest in the ability of your Advocate!

Jesus — King And Lord Over The Storm

Jesus — King And Lord Over The Storm

Matthew 14:27 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,
“Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

Are you going through a dark, difficult moment in your life? Perhaps the storm just rages on with no let-up and you are trembling in fear. You feel that any time now, you may just cave in and go under because you cannot beat this storm.

Be comforted that Jesus sees what you are going through and He always comes to where you are in your darkest hour. He did that for His disciples one stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus came, walking on the stormy waters, walking on top of the problem that was threatening to overwhelm them. He is indeed the King and Lord over the storms!

When your eyes are on Christ, even though the storms are raging and the winds are blowing, you will know that you are above your troubles and circumstances. When people ask you how you are doing under the circumstances, tell them, “I am not under the circumstances. I am on top of them because my God is above all!”

Don’t be fearful. He will come to you walking on the stormy waters. Hear His comforting voice telling you, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

And as you behold Jesus, you become like Him. You will find yourself doing things you did not know you could do. You will, like Peter, walk on water. This happens when you are occupied with the person of Jesus, with His resources, love, wisdom, ability, power and majesty.

My friend, even during the times when you take your eyes off Jesus, He never takes His eyes off you. And when you cry out to Him, He will immediately stretch out His hand to catch hold of you. You will not go under.

There may be times that you are not able to find your way back. Jesus will then hold your hand and walk you back to the boat. And like Peter, you will realize that with your hand in His, the storm will come to a standstill!

Point To Jesus, Your Qualification

Point To Jesus, Your Qualification

1 Corinthians 1:30 30But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God —
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption —

When the devil accuses us of having done wrong and tells us that we don’t deserve God’s blessings, what should we do? Well, the Lord showed me one day what we are to do. We are to point everything back to Jesus, who qualifies us for all of God’s blessings.

So when the devil says, “You are not righteous enough,” just look to Jesus and declare, “He is my righteousness!”

When the devil says, “You are not holy enough,” just look to Jesus and declare, “He is my sanctification!”

When the devil says, “You don’t deserve to be healed,” just look to Jesus and declare, “By His stripes I am healed!”

When the devil says, “You don’t qualify for the blessing,” just look to Jesus and declare, “He is my qualification!”

Each time you point everything back to Jesus, the devil has nothing to say because Jesus qualifies you for all of God’s blessings. In and of yourself, you do not qualify. Without Christ, there is nothing good in you that can qualify you.

But with Christ, your disqualification becomes your qualification for the undeserved, unearned and unmerited blessings of God. And because God puts your life in Christ (Colossians 3:3), who is the all-deserving one, you become all-deserving. Because you are in Christ, you are qualified.

Jesus qualifies you because He died for you and gave you a blood-bought right to every blessing of God. You have a blood-bought right to a life full of meaning, purpose and abundance. You have a blood-bought right to walk in divine health. You have a blood-bought right to God’s provision even when the economy is bad. You have a blood-bought right to preferential treatment because God favors you. You have a blood-bought right to the good life!

My friend, you have a right to all these blessings not because you are good, but because Jesus shed His blood and qualified you to have them. So don’t let the devil or anyone tell you that you can’t expect to walk in the blessings of God!

‘I Am Who I Am’

‘I Am Who I Am’

Exodus 3:14 14And God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”…

Whatever your challenge is today, whether it is physical, emotional, financial or marital, the great I Am declares to you: “I am to you what you need Me to be.”

Do you need healing? He says, “I am the Lord who heals you. (Exodus 15:26) And as you believe Me, you will see your healing manifest thirtyfold, sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

Are you groping in the dark, not knowing what to do? He says, “I am the light of the world. (John 8:12) When you walk in Me, you will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Are you looking for a way out of a bad situation? He says, “I am your deliverer. I will reach down from on high, take hold of your hand and draw you out of the deep waters.” (Psalm 18:2, 16)

Are you wondering if there is more to life than merely existing from day to day? He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25) I came to give you life. And where there is life, there cannot be death. You will have life and life more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Are you fearful of what is ahead of you? He says, “I am the good shepherd (John 10:11), who leads you to pastures of tender, green grass and waters of rest. You will not suffer lack.” (Psalm 23:1–3)

Are you confused by the opinions and reports of man? He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. (Revelation 1:11) I have the final word in your life. The doctors do not have the final word. The experts do not have the final word. I have the first word and the last word in your situation.”

My friend, do not be fearful of the problems you face. The great I Am declares to you, “Fear not! For I am to you what you need Me to be!”

Power From Jesus’ Body To Yours

Power From Jesus’ Body To Yours

Matthew 26:26 26 ... “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Can you imagine the Lord sick, nursing a cold or fever while He walked on earth? No, our Lord Jesus was never sick! He was vibrant, full of life and full of health. When He told His disciples, “Take, eat; this is My body”, they could practically visualize what it meant because they had lived and walked with this Man. They had seen people without hands or feet made whole when they touched His body. (Matthew  15:30–31)

Even His clothes were soaked with His health! A woman who had a bleeding condition for 12 years — no doctor could cure her — was healed immediately when she touched the hem of His garment. If the hem of His garment was soaked with His health, vibrancy, energy and divine radiance, how much more His body!

You know, some of the most encouraging verses in the Gospels are these: “And as many as touched Him were made well” (Mark 6:56), for “power went out from Him and healed them all”. (Luke 6:19) I love those verses! That is our Jesus!

The Bible says that they put sick people along the streets, and Jesus walked around, touched them and healed them. Now, you see movie stars doing this: They run here and there, they slap their fans’ hands, but nobody gets healed. But wherever Jesus walked, whoever He touched, He healed. Picture this: A trail of people. Those in front of Jesus are lying down, but those behind Him whom He has touched are leaping with joy and following Him! That is how Jesus healed the sick.

So that night, when He said, “Take, eat; this is My body,” as He broke the bread and gave it to His disciples to eat, they knew what it meant. They were probably thinking, “We are going to ingest His health into our bodies! Hallelujah!”

That is what you must believe when you partake of the Holy Communion. It is not just a ritual or symbolic act. No, you must believe that He is the true bread from heaven who took your cancer, diabetes and heart disease, so that you can have His supernatural health! And when you eat of His broken body with this revelation, you will have life in abundance and the health of the Lord!

You Already Are, You Already Have

You Already Are, You Already Have

Mark 11:24 24Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray,
believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

God’s Word tells us that we can have what we ask for in prayer — by simply believing that we already have it! As you are praying, know that you already have your answer or breakthrough — “believe that you receive them”. The Bible also tells us that we already have whatever we are praying for because we are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

And you are in Christ the moment you received Him as your Savior. So when you pray, you are actually releasing your faith to lay hold of what you already have in Christ. And as you keep saying that you already have it (Mark 11:23), you will see the manifestation of it in the natural realm.

In one of our church camps, a church member shared about the back problem she had had for 15 years as a result of a fall from her rooftop. She needed an operation to help stop the shooting pains in her spine. She had also been taking anti-stress pills for five years.

After coming to church, she realized that she had already received her healing through the finished work of Christ. Refusing the operation and even the pills, she would rebuke the pain which kept coming back, saying, “In Jesus, I believe I am healed. I am not trying or going to be healed. I am already healed. I have a brand new backbone for I am in Christ. As Christ is, so am I in this world.” It was not very long before this sister saw the manifestation of her healing.

Sometimes, the symptoms of a sickness or lack may return and you think that you still have not received your blessing. That is the time to release your faith and declare that you already have it. You are not confessing to get it. You are confessing because you already have it in Christ!

My friend, the Bible tells us that Christ is in us. (Colossians 1:27) This means that right now, your healing, wellness, family’s well-being and everything your heart desires are in you. So say, “I have everything I need in Christ right now!”