Live The ‘Much More’ Life

Live The ‘Much More’ Life

Romans 5:17 17For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ...

When God created man, He did not intend for man to grow old, become weak and powerless, suffer diseases and die — first the physical death, then the second or eternal death.

God never meant for man to go through all these and for death to reign. But because of one man’s offense — that man being Adam — death reigns.

The ultimate death is the second or eternal death in the lake of fire. Before this death is physical death. Before physical death, you have diseases and illnesses. Not all diseases and illnesses lead to death, but they are manifestations of death. One step before diseases and illnesses is tiredness, weakness and powerlessness, which are signs and symptoms of death. Now, all these are forms of death. As you can see, death reigns!

Are you resigned to the fact that death can strike whoever, whenever and wherever it wishes? Are you allowing death to reign in your life and in the lives of your loved ones? Or are you allowing God’s Word to tell you the truth about death?

“For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more... ” Thank God for the “much more”! What Jesus, the last Adam, did is much more and far greater than what the first Adam did. We are those who have received the “abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness”. Therefore, our “much more” is that we will reign in life through Jesus Christ!

God considers death an enemy. He came to destroy death and give us eternal life. And the more we walk in the grace of God and His righteousness, the more we will reign in life. The more we believe in His grace or undeserved favor, and the more we know that we have been made righteous by His blood and not our good behavior, the more we will reign over all forms of death!

Be Established In God’s Righteousness

Be Established In God’s Righteousness

Isaiah 54:14 14In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

Have you ever asked yourself why some Christians are constantly beset with overwhelming challenges, sicknesses and defeat if God’s promise, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17), is true?

Well, this promise comes with a condition — “In righteousness you shall be established”. When you are established in righteousness, you will be far from oppression and terror, and not a single weapon formed against you will prosper!

This condition is not hard to meet. For a start, you already have righteousness! When you received Jesus as your Savior, you received the gift of righteousness which enables you to reign in life. (Romans 5:17) This righteousness does not come from you but the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17) And when you are established in His righteousness, no weapon formed against you will prosper.

But what does being established in righteousness mean? To be established in something is to have that something as your very foundation for security. So God wants you to know, be sure of and grow in the revelation that you are righteous by the blood of Jesus, by His perfect sacrifice at the cross.

When you feel as if you are in a storm, tossed here and there, and you begin to experience worry and fear, remind yourself of who you are in Christ. You are the righteousness of God in Christ and you have His righteousness!

As you do this, you will begin to notice the worry and fear slide off you, for when you are established in righteousness, “you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you”! That is why God wants you to be established in righteousness. He wants you to be free from fear, and far from oppression and terror.

So when the pressure is on, hold fast to the belief that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. That is where no weapon formed against you can prosper. As you keep believing and confessing your righteousness in Christ, revelation will break forth and you will experience the release of God’s miraculous provision, divine protection and blessings into your life!

God Is Not Judging You

God Is Not Judging You

Romans 8:33 33Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Some people see God as a judge who has exacting demands on man. When they fall short or when things go wrong in their lives, they think that God is judging them.

My friend, the truth is that if you are a believer, God does not bring any charge against you. Instead, He justifies you because of the blood of His Son. In fact, God’s Word goes on to say that the One who has the right to condemn you, chose instead to die for you and is risen at the Father’s right hand to be your righteousness! (Romans 8:34)

But what the devil tries to do is to get you to believe that God watches you with a critical eye and punishes you when you do wrong. He has deceived many sincere Christians into believing that if they have done something wrong, sickness or some other evil thing has a right to come upon them and their families. And when these things happen, he convinces them that they are suffering God’s judgment because of their wrongdoings. In the meantime, these sincere Christians struggle with condemnation because they think that they are the cause of their problems.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Ever since the cross, where Jesus was judged in your place for every one of your wrong actions, thoughts and words, God no longer judges you, His child. You need not accept condemnation or evil things happening to you because Jesus took all your punishment at the cross.

So when you start to feel condemned for your actions or when you experience negative circumstances, say, “It is written: It is God who justifies me. I am completely forgiven and made righteous before Him. I refuse to accept any condemnation and I reject every symptom of the curse that I am seeing in my circumstances!”

Then, simply stand on the truth of God’s Word, and watch Him deliver and bless you!

The Antidote To Fear

The Antidote To Fear

1 John 4:18 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear...

Experts tell us that babies have two natural fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. A study on fear was conducted on 500 adults of varying ages, backgrounds and lifestyles. The results showed that they shared some 7,000 different fears. This means that they must have learnt 6,998 fears since they were born. That is a lot of fears!

Actually, our bodies are designed for faith. Fear was foreign to man until Adam sinned against God. For the first time, Adam knew fear, and he hid from God and said, “I heard Your voice... I was afraid... I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:10)

Since then, man has been living in the realm of fear — fear of the future, fear of what others might say, fear of diseases, fear of flying... Actually, every fear is born out of the feeling of being cut off from God. If you think that God is still mad at you, that He is out to punish you, how can you have faith that everything will be all right? How can you have faith for your miracle?

But I have good news for you. There is a sure antidote to fear. The apostle John says that “perfect love casts out fear”. When you know that God so loves you that He gave His Son to take your beating so that you can take His blessings, you will stop fearing.

God so loves you that at the cross, Jesus was rejected so that you could become God’s beloved. It was not the nails that kept Jesus on the cross. It was His love for you. And if God did not withhold Jesus, why do you think that He will withhold healing, finances or a blessed marriage from you? (Romans 8:32)

Today, when you hear His voice, you will hear Him say, “You are My beloved child, in you I am well pleased.” And you don’t have to hide but you can run to Him without fear because He is not out to punish you. He is out to protect and provide for you, so fear not!

What Is On Your Heart?

What Is On Your Heart?

Hebrews 8:10 10“... I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts...”

Many of us have been taught that we cannot trust our hearts. We quote verses like “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked...” (Jeremiah 17:9), not knowing that Jeremiah was referring to the man who had not received Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

I have had people come to me and say, “Pastor Prince, I don’t know what I should do with my life.”

“What is on your heart?” I asked one of them.

“I would love to work among children.”

“Then work among children!”

“But I am waiting on the Lord to tell me to do that.”

“Well, He has given you the desire, so go and work among children!”

“But the desire comes from my heart. How do I know if it is of God?”

My friend, once you are saved, you have a brand new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), and you can trust the promptings of your heart because God dwells in you and He leads you from within. And don’t worry because His promptings will never contradict His Word. It will lead you to good success.

Often, you find that when you follow your inner promptings, it is actually God who has put those desires in your mind and written them on your heart. I remember years ago when I approached one of our church leaders and told him, “I really think that you are called to be a full-time pastor.” It turned out to be a confirmation of what he already knew on the inside. You see, God was already leading him from within. Today, he is one of our full-time pastors.

If you enjoy something and desire to do it, then go for it! Go with the flow. God Himself says that He will guide us from within. Let’s not doubt Him. And don’t worry about the outcome. Your part is just to follow the flow. God’s part is to work in you both the willingness and the performance of it! (Philippians 2:13)

Beloved, because God has given you a new heart, He will write His desires on it. And as you fulfill these desires, you will bring forth fruit, and not wither and die. Whatever you do will prosper!

Covered, Protected, Delivered

Covered, Protected, Delivered

Exodus 13:21 21And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

When the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, God led them by going before them in a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.

By day, God spread the pillar of cloud as a covering over His people in the desert to prevent the scorching sun from striking them down. The people were shaded and kept cool. Today, you are also under His covering. He will not allow you to be struck down (Psalm 121:3–8), nor be oppressed by the “heat” of the day. (Isaiah 54:14)

At night, when the desert became dark and cold, God gave His people the pillar of fire to light the way for them, as well as to keep them warm and safe. Today, as you walk with God, you will not be overwhelmed by the cold, dark places in life because God&rsquos Word says, “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5) You will not fear the terror by night or the pestilence that walks in darkness because God will deliver you from them. (Psalm 91:5–6)

Like the children of Israel, who only needed to look up, and keep their eyes on the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, all you need to do today is to look up and keep your eyes on Jesus. When you need His direction for a situation, look to Jesus who has the words of eternal life. (John 6:68) When you see symptoms of sickness in your body, look to Jesus who has borne away every disease and physical affliction. (Matthew 8:17)

When the children of Israel were bitten by serpents in the desert, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole — a picture of Christ being judged on the cross. (John 3:14) Those who looked at the bronze serpent instead of their wounds were healed. (Numbers 21:9) He who looks to Jesus lives!

Beloved, look to Jesus. He is your covering, protection and deliverance!

God Can Use Those Whom The World Rejects

God Can Use Those Whom The World Rejects

1 Corinthians 1:26 26For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

You may think that you are a nobody, maybe even a has-been or a loser in the eyes of the world. Take heart because God’s Word says that if you are not wise, not mighty or not noble according to the flesh, then you are a prime candidate for Him to call on! And when He begins to use you, you will see His favor, power and increase change your life.

In the eyes of the ancient world, Moses was the rising star of Egypt. The Bible tells us that in the first 40 years of his life, “Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds”. (Acts 7:22) But God could not use him then because he was too smart, strong and full of himself.

It was only 40 years later, after having been in the unglamorous desert of Midian, emptied of himself and thinking that he was a has-been, that God sent him to confound the might of Pharaoh.

The world may pass them by — the weak, the small, the forgotten and the losers, but God chooses them to confound those mighty in the world.

I know this to be true. As a little boy, I grew up facing rejection and ridicule because of my Indian-Chinese racial mix. And as a teenager, I was the butt of many jokes because of my stammering and stuttering.

When I was in my teens, I remember praying to God, “I don’t know what I can do for or give You, but You got me — spirit, soul and body.” I don’t know how many times I prayed that prayer. But I knew that God heard me because He called me. Only God would dare choose me, a stammerer and stutterer, to pastor a church for Him that has since grown to more than 24,000 members today.

I know what I was and where I came from. I know I have done nothing and can do nothing apart from His anointing and grace in my life.

My friend, when you think that you are weak and small compared to others in the world, that is when God can use you to do great and wonderful things for Him!