Right Believing Produces Right Living

Right Believing Produces Right Living

Luke 19:8
8Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

Zacchaeus was a tax collector. He was despised because he was a deceitful man, cheating people of their money and resorting to false accusations to get what he wanted.

One day, Jesus visited him. The Bible makes no mention of Jesus rebuking him for his dishonest lifestyle the whole time they were together. Instead, Jesus showed him grace and honor by spending time with him. Before long, Zacchaeus stood up and declared to Jesus that he would restore fourfold to anyone he had taken from illegally, and would even give half of his goods to the poor.

A moment with Jesus completely changed Zacchaeus’ heart. A moment with grace in person — without accusations, condemnation or judgment — caused such an inward transformation that in a short time, Zacchaeus was doing outwardly what was right and in a measure no man would have expected of him!

Many people want to live right. Their concern with right living makes them focus on themselves and the things they struggle with. But it is right believing that produces right living. If you are trying to break free from an addiction that has bound you for many years, believe that Jesus loves you so much that at the cross, He paid the price for you to be completely free from any addiction. Believe that by His stripes you are healed and delivered.

One member in our church had a smoking addiction. But each time he lit up a cigarette, he would believe that God was not judging or condemning him, and that he was still the righteousness of God in Christ. One day, he woke up impressed by the Spirit that that day would mark the start of a smoke-free life. Expecting to be assaulted by the usual cravings to smoke, he prayed this throughout the day: “Thank You, Jesus, for by Your stripes I am healed.” Before he knew it, the day passed without him lighting up or suffering any withdrawal pangs! And since then, he has been totally free of this addiction.

Today, if you want to experience right living, find out what Christ has done for you and what you have in Him — and believe it!

God Helps The Helpless

God Helps The Helpless

Psalm 63:7
7Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.

I have had people tell me, “Pastor Prince, please pray for me. I can’t see a way out of the mess I am in. I know that this whole thing is my fault. Right now, I don’t even know whether God will hear my prayers.”

If you think about it, a whole lot of our troubles are of our own making. But it is when we deserve the punishment and not the blessing that we can receive grace — the undeserved favor and unmerited help of God!

When we stop trying to be deserving of God’s help, we find God more than willing to be our Savior. But when we continue to try to work things out, we are trying to be our own saviors. God will say, “Save yourself because I can’t help you when you don’t need My help.”

You might be thinking, “But Pastor Prince, don’t you know, God helps those who help themselves?”

Contrary to popular belief, this saying that “God helps those who help themselves” is not in the Bible! God does not help those who help themselves. He helps those who are helpless and dependent on Him. He helps those who look to Him as their only source of help for their problem.

If you say, “My problem is that I am weak.” God says, “That is not a problem. I am your strength.” If you say, “Lord, my face is the problem. I am ugly.” God says, “My face will shine on yours. I am your glory.” If you say, “Lord, I am the problem. I am a nobody.” God says, “I will make you a somebody.”

Unfortunately, many of us are still trying to help ourselves, thinking that for certain matters, we don’t really need God. But God says, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Do we really believe that? Or do we believe that without Him, we can still do some things to help ourselves?

Only when we realize that we can do nothing, and are nothing in and of ourselves, can we do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Philippians 4:13) Then, we will see the undeserved, unmerited help and favor of God deliver us from every evil!

Believe And Act On The New Covenant

Believe And Act On The New Covenant

1 Samuel 17:45
45Then David said to the Philistine, “… I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

Ever wonder why two people can hear the same thing and yet have very different responses? For one, what is said makes him afraid and discouraged. For the other, his heart is so filled with faith that he dares to come against the devil and what he is doing.

In the Valley of Elah, Goliath the Philistine giant taunted the armies of Israel for 40 days. When David came on the scene, he heard the same mockings of Goliath that the rest of the Israelites heard. But somehow, those same words which caused fear in the soldiers angered David. What did David know or see that the others failed to see?

David knew that he had a covenant with God. Now, King Saul and all the soldiers with him that day also had the same covenant with God, but only David believed the covenant. And he acted on his belief. So God caused his giant to come tumbling down.

If David had such a great victory even though he was under the old covenant, how much more you and I who are under the new covenant! Today, God is asking, “Where are my Davids who will believe the new covenant?”

What is the new covenant? It is the covenant of grace. And grace means unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor. God wants us to know that He has cut this covenant with us through Christ our representative. And according to the covenant, we have His undeserved favor. We are blessed because Jesus took our beating. Because of what Jesus has done on the cross, we have victory over every giant.

Isn’t that good news? Today, God wants you to stand before your “giant” and declare that in spite of what you are going through, in spite of what is happening, you believe that God is for you because of what Jesus has done for you. And then, before your very eyes, you will see the giants of accusation, intimidation, condemnation, disease and debt fall flat before you!

Boast In God’s Grace For You

Boast In God’s Grace For You

1 Corinthians 1:31
31… “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

If someone asks you, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” you would probably tell him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,” wouldn’t you?

Well, a rich, young ruler asked Jesus the same question, but instead of telling him to believe in Him, Jesus gave him the law. (Mark 10:17–22)

Jesus saw that the young ruler lived his life taking pride in his ability to keep the law to earn salvation and the favor of God. But because of His love for the man, Jesus had to show him that those who live by the law must realize that their self-efforts cannot save them.

He therefore reminded him, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery… ‘Do not steal... ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” The young ruler showed that his trust was in his law-keeping when he replied, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

So Jesus had to tell him, “One thing you lack… sell whatever you have and give to the poor… and come… and follow Me.” When the young ruler heard that, he walked away sorrowful.

When we boast of having kept the law, it will always point out something we lack or have failed to obey. The law is so holy and perfect that if we don’t keep even one iota of it, it has no choice but to judge and curse us. (Galatians 3:10) That is what the law was designed to do.

God does not want us to boast in our abilities to keep the law. If we are to have confidence in anything at all, if we are to boast in anything at all, it is in the grace of God. Only His grace can completely keep, save, heal, deliver and bless us.

So let’s not boast in what we have done or are able to do, but boast in His grace for us — that He is our strength, health, favor, prosperity, wisdom, hope, salvation and glory. That is how we will see ourselves enjoying our inheritance of abundant life!

Everlasting Righteousness

Everlasting Righteousness

In Sunday, we hear a message that says, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” On Monday, we are still confessing, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” But come Wednesday or Thursday, we begin to confess our sins! Then, when Sunday comes, we get a fresh revelation of our righteousness in Christ and we start to confess our righteousness again. Why do we do that?

It cannot be that on Sunday, we are righteous. Then, a few days later, we become unrighteous because of sin, but are “re-righteoused” when Sunday comes again. No, our righteousness is an “everlasting righteousness”! Jesus has obtained “eternal redemption” for us. (Hebrews 9:12)

“But Pastor Prince, I have just sinned. How can I still be righteous?”

My friend, it is not what you do that makes you righteous. It is what Christ has done at Calvary. Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man’s [Adam] disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” It is the obedience of one Man — Christ — and not your obedience, that has made you righteous!

God wants you established in what Christ has done. He wants you conscious of your everlasting righteousness in Christ. How do you do that? You can listen to anointed messages that remind you of your righteousness in Christ. And don’t just know it in your head. Speak it. Every morning, tell yourself, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ!” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

You don’t need a revelation of how sinful you are. You know it when you sin. The devil reminds you of your sins. Even your friends and loved ones sometimes point out your sins. What you need, instead, is a revelation of how forever righteous you are in God’s eyes, especially when you sin.

And when you are conscious of this gift of righteousness that is everlasting, you will reign in life! (Romans 5:17) You will reign over sin, bad habits, sicknesses, lack and everything that holds you back from a victorious life!

Worship God As You Are

Worship God As You Are

Ephesians 5:27
27that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Have you been to a worship service where you stood with your hands raised, ready to worship God, only to hear the worship leader say, "Before we worship God, let's all search our hearts"? Then, as you search your heart, before long, you dig up something that you don't like. The next thing you know, your hands are no longer raised and soon, you find yourself sitting down — you don't feel good worshiping God any more.

My friend, I have good news for you. Come and worship Him as you are. Come into God's presence Jesus-conscious, forgiveness-conscious and grace-conscious! Come into God's presence bringing only Jesus the spotless Lamb of God as your offering.

Your worshiping God is like the times God's people in the Old Testament brought their offerings to the priest. The priest examined the animal sacrifice to ensure that it was without blemish. The priest did not examine the sinner. If the animal was without blemish, God accepted the animal sacrifice as well as the offerer who brought the animal.

So when you come into God's presence, don't do any self-examination and be discouraged when you find faults in your life. God does not examine you. He sees you through the full value, and all the loveliness and acceptance of His Son. (Ephesians 1:6) He sees you holy and without blemish!

Remember the woman who was referred to as a sinner, possibly a prostitute? She went to the house of the Pharisee who was hosting Jesus and wiped Jesus' feet with her hair. (Luke 7:36–50) That was her act of worship.

She came to Him as she was. Yes, she knew that she had sinned, but she worshiped Jesus first because of who He is. She was Jesus-conscious. Then, she heard Jesus say, "Your sins are forgiven." (Luke 7:48) She received the forgiveness she needed from Him.

Whatever you need from the Savior, come to Him as you are. Worship Him for who He is and then you will hear Him say, "Go your way. Your restoration has come. Your prosperity is here. You are healed. You have been made whole!"

The Sure Symbol Of God’s Love

The Sure Symbol Of God’s Love

Romans 5:8
8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Imagine this scenario: Your car tire blows and you are late for work. At the office, you find out that someone else got the promotion you had been hoping for. Then, you receive a call from home informing you that your kitchen pipes are leaking again. Before long, you hear a voice telling you, “If God loves you so much, how come all these things are happening to you?”

Perhaps you are asking the same question today and wondering if God really loves you. Well, I want you to know that you must never judge God’s love for you based on your circumstances. No, look at the cross instead! The cross is the sure symbol of God’s love for you. It is at the cross that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

A teenager learnt that the cross indeed spoke of how much God loves her. At one point in her life, she was contemplating suicide as the only way out of her loveless, messed-up life. She had intended to take some pills with a lethal dose of alcohol. She was all ready to die when she started clicking aimlessly on some MP3 songs on the Internet. And of all the songs that were on her screen, she picked a beautiful song written by one of our church musicians.

The lyrics of the song, sung by one of our church vocalists, spoke of being held by God’s love and being treasured in His sight. They touched this teenager. Sensing that an awesome God with His amazing love was reaching out to her, she abandoned her plan to kill herself. Not long after that, she found our church and even met the person who had sung the song. She eventually came to know how much God loves her and how He has demonstrated His love for her through the cross.

Beloved, when you look at your life and find yourself wondering if God really loves you, look to the cross and see God’s outstretched arms. It will remind and reassure you of how much He loves you!