You Are Already Blessed January 21, 2020 bizadmin ‘I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ Joshua 24:13 YOU ARE ALREADY BLESSED God is more willing to bless you than you are willing to be blessed! In fact, He is so keen for you to enjoy His abundance that in His mind, giving you over and above what you need is a settled matter. God has already promised: “I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” He did not say, “I may give,” which means that it may or may not happen, but He said, “I have given,” which means that it has already happened. It is only a matter of time before your revelation of what you have through the work of Christ brings forth the abundance that He has already blessed you with. A brother in the United States wrote in to share how he needed to buy a car but had only half the amount of money needed. He kept calculating and strategizing, but the sums just weren’t adding up. He finally quit trying to make it happen and just rested in the Lord’s love and ability to provide for him. Weeks later, he was able to buy a car that was two years newer than what he had wanted, at exactly the amount that he had! My friend, expect divine provision in your life because you are already richly blessed in Christ. Jesus took your place of poverty at the cross—“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes, He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). In Him, you are poor no more. So stop looking at the lack of your natural resources. Look to the cross and say, “Because of Jesus’ finished work, I can expect to walk in all of His blessings!” – Joseph Prince [abc]
God Gives You Undeserved Preferential Treatment January 16, 2020 bizadmin …Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:7 GOD GIVES YOU UNDESERVED PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT When you fly first class in an airplane, the cabin crew gives you first-class treatment. They ask you, “Is everything okay with you, sir?” They ask you what magazines you want to read. They give you a blanket if you are cold. They give you the best kinds of food. They give you preferential treatment compared to those traveling in economy class. The grace of God is defined as “undeserved, unearned and unmerited favor.” And one of the definitions for favor is “preferential treatment”! Today, God wants you to know that you have His favor on you. He wants you to know that He gives you preferential treatment which you do not deserve. And He wants you to depend on and take full advantage of it in your life. [abc] God also wants you to know that His favor in your life can be increased. You can experience more of His favor from day today. How? The Bible tells us in 2 Peter 1:2 that God’s grace (or favor) is multiplied to us “in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” The more you behold Jesus and His love for you, the more you believe and confess that God’s favor is on you, the more you will see His favor work for you. So if you are a doctor, you will find patients favoring you and you will have more patients than you can handle. If you are a businessman, you will find people just wanting to do business with you because they like you and feel good about you. Then, you will have more business than you can handle and you will need to plan for expansion! When the favor of God shines on your church, you will find its premises too small for the people who queue up week after week to attend the services! So when people wonder and ask, “What is happening here?” you can tell them, “It is the favor of God multiplied all over us!” And it is all undeserved, unearned and unmerited! [abc]
The Gospel Saves In Every Situation January 13, 2020 bizadmin For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes… Romans 1:16 THE GOSPEL SAVES IN EVERY SITUATION Each time you hear the gospel of Christ, you are hearing God’s good news for you. And the Bible tells us that the gospel of Christ—the good news that God wants all men to hear—is the very power of God for your salvation, not just from hell, but also from illnesses, financial lack, harm, a failing marriage—every aspect of your life that needs saving! You may say, “Pastor Prince, I’ve heard the gospel of Christ, but it seems like I am one of those whom the power of God has missed.” My friend, when you hear the gospel of Christ, do you really believe it? You cannot just understand it in your mind. You must know and believe the good news in your heart, and then you will see that it is the power of God for your salvation. [abc] But what is the good news that God wants you to know in your heart, which will release the power and salvation of God into your situation? “For in it [the good news], the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” (Romans 1:17). The good news is that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, which you receive from faith to faith. This means that this righteousness comes because you have faith in His blood, not your good behavior, to make you righteous. It is from faith to faith, not faith to works, or works to works. [abc] The good news is not preached to show you what is wrong with you. It is preached to show you what is right with you because of Jesus’ work at Calvary, in spite of what is wrong with you! There is nothing left for you to do to earn God’s blessings for your life. You only need to hear and believe the all-encompassing saving power of the gospel of Christ to heal you of diseases, preserve you from danger, bless your finances and bring well-being to your family. The world may say that good news is too good to be true. But for those of us who are the righteousness of God in Christ, the good news is so good because it is indeed true! [abc]
You Have First-Class Righteousness January 13, 2020 bizadmin For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 YOU HAVE FIRST-CLASS RIGHTEOUSNESS Some Christians believe that they have to work at becoming more righteous. And they kick themselves when they do wrong. They don’t realize that by doing these things, they are not seeking God’s righteousness, but are trying to establish their own righteousness by their law-keeping and right conduct. Righteousness is not about the right conduct. It is a gift from God to us through Jesus. And since it is a gift, we cannot earn it by our law-keeping and right conduct. We can only receive it! How do we receive this gift? We receive it through the cross. God made Jesus “who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” So today, we are the righteousness of God in Christ. We are as righteous as Jesus is! But some of us think that in the body of Christ, there are different classes of righteousness, like the seating classes in an airplane. They think that some of us have economy-class righteousness, others have business-class righteousness and a select few have first-class righteousness. [abc] That is nonsense! When God gave us Jesus, He became our righteousness. So we have His righteousness. This means that we are 100 percent righteous in God’s eyes! We cannot but have first-class righteousness! You might say, “Pastor Prince, I don’t understand. How can I be righteous when I have done wrong?” Think about this: Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us. Jesus knew no sin, did no sin and in Him was no sin. But at the cross, He received our sin and became sin for us. Likewise, we, who were sinners, knew no righteousness, did no righteousness and in us was no righteousness. But at the cross, we received His righteousness and became the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. At the cross, the divine exchange took place. Jesus took our place so that we might take His place. He did not deserve to be made sin, but He was made sin in our place. We did not deserve to be made righteous, but we were made righteous because we received His righteousness. What good news! What amazing grace! [abc]
When You See God’s Grace, He Sees Your Faith January 13, 2020 bizadmin For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8 WHEN YOU SEE GOD’S GRACE, HE SEES YOUR FAITH Many a time, people ask me, “Pastor Prince, I know that God’s promises are true, but how can I be sure that His promises will come true in my life?” My friend, if you want God’s promises to be sure in your life, you cannot depend on yourself. If you depend on yourself—your obedience, goodness, service and even faith—you will not be able to receive God’s promises. But when you depend on God’s grace—His unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor toward you—that is when His promises become sure in your life. [abc] This was true of the woman with the issue of blood (see Matthew 9:20–22). She didn’t go around saying, “I must have faith…I hope that I have enough faith…I will have faith…I will not lose faith.” No, she was only conscious of the grace of Jesus—how He always healed the sick, how powerful He was in raising the dead and how willing He was to use that power for her healing. She just saw His grace abounding toward her, so much so that she said, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” And when she came behind Jesus and touched the very hem of His garment, she was healed. At that same moment, Jesus stopped, turned around and said to her, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” When the woman saw His grace, God saw her faith! And so it was by grace, through faith, that God’s promise became sure in her life. [abc] God wants you to see His grace. And when you see His grace, He sees your faith. God says, “For by grace are you saved through faith.” The Greek word for “saved,” sozo, doesn’t just mean to save from hell, but also to heal, preserve and make whole. So it is by grace that you are made whole, kept healthy, preserved and blessed. It is by grace through faith that God’s promises become sure in your life. My friend, don’t worry if you feel that you lack faith. Begin to see God’s grace in your situation and He will see that as faith. And because He sees your faith, you will receive the breakthrough you need! [abc]
Believing is Receiving January 12, 2020 bizadmin For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. Mark 5:28–29 BELIEVING IS RECEIVING You have heard people of the world say, “I will believe it only when I see it.” Generally, that is the way the world thinks. But God’s ways are not like the ways of the world. The world says, “If I can’t feel it or see it, I cannot believe the miracle is here.” God says, “If you believe it before you feel it or see it, you will see your miracle.” Believing first before seeing the evidence of what we are believing for is called faith. Faith is like a spark and Jesus is the dynamite powder. In the story of the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, there were many people who touched Jesus (see Mark 5:31), but nothing happened to them. They didn’t touch Him in faith. But when the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came to Him and touched Him in faith, He felt power leave His body (see Mark 5:30), and it sparked off an explosion of healing in the woman’s body! [abc] Hearing about how good, kind and loving Jesus was fired her faith to believe that He could and would heal her. So convinced was she (even when the condition in her body was still evident) that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Did she experience her healing first before she believed? No, she believed first in Jesus’ goodness and power, acted in faith and only then felt the healing in her body. In the same way, God wants you to believe in His goodness and love toward you. He wants you to know how willing He is to act on your behalf to bless you, and how, with Christ, He will freely give you every good thing (see Romans 8:32). [abc] He wants you to declare by faith that all is and shall be well with you, and to expect to see just that. And then, no matter how long you have had the problem, no matter how bad the experts say it is, an explosion of healing and restoration will take place, and you will receive what you are believing for!
Choose Not to Worry January 9, 2020 bizadmin Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? Matthew 6:27 CHOOSE NOT TO WORRY Many Christians are familiar with Jesus’ rhetorical question, “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” But not many of us actually let it get into our hearts and allow the love of God to free us from our habit of worrying. The truth is, no amount of worrying can lengthen your life or add anything to your physical person. Instead, worrying robs you of sleep, health and many good years. In fact, it is only when you are worry-free that God’s anointing flows freely in you, strengthening, healing, restoring and adding to you. A church member, after undergoing a mammogram, found that she had lumps in her breast. Upon receiving the doctor’s report, she wrote this down on the report: “Jesus is my healer. I receive my healing. I am healed. I rest in God completely.” She was due back at the clinic later the same day for a biopsy to see if the lumps were malignant. Her sister-in-law, who was having lunch with her that day, witnessed her cheerful and worry-free attitude while she ate her lunch. [abc] Back at the clinic, this precious sister sat among other ladies who were also there for their biopsies. They looked very worried, so she started sharing Jesus with them and prayed for some of them. When her turn came and she had an ultrasound scan done, the doctor was puzzled—her scan showed no evidence of any lumps! The doctor went back to consult her colleague who had first discovered the lumps. Stunned, both doctors conducted their own investigations. They returned to her only to say, “It’s a miracle!” My friend, when you worry, you are actually believing that the devil has the power to make inroads into your life that God cannot protect you from. But when you refuse to worry, you are putting your faith in God. You have more confidence in His love and power working for you than in the devil’s ability to harm you! When you refuse to worry but choose to rest in the finished work of Christ, you will see the manifestation of your blessing. You will see your miracle! [abc]
Righteousness Is Not Right Doing But Right Being January 6, 2020 bizadmin But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, Romans 4:5 RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT RIGHT DOING BUT RIGHT BEING What do you think righteousness is about? Something you do or something you are? Right doing or right being? The Bible tells us that after Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross, God imputes righteousness not to those who strive to obey the law (see Galatians 2:16), but to anyone who believes in His Son. Because Christ took our sins and gave us His righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21), the moment we believe in Him, God treats us as righteous apart from our works or obedience (see Romans 4:5–8). This is new covenant righteousness—a righteousness that comes by faith and not works. [abc] You are not righteous because of how morally upright you are. You are not righteous because you exercise self-control. You are not righteous because you read 10 chapters of the Bible daily. You are not righteous because you feel righteous. But you are the very righteousness of God in Christ solely because the sacrifice of Jesus made you so. When you believe this, your faith is accounted for righteousness. And this is what God wants you to use your faith for. If you are righteous by your deeds, you don’t need faith. You also don’t need faith to know that you are sinful. But you need faith to believe and declare that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, in the midst of your struggles with temptation and sin. For example, when you feel lousy because you have just shouted at your wife, God wants you to exercise your faith to see yourself as still righteous in the midst of that failure. This living revelation that you are still righteous will give you the strength to love your wife and reconcile things with her. [abc] The devil may remind you of your foul temper and question your integrity: “How dare you call yourself righteous when you just did that!” Just ignore his lies and boldly declare, “I am not righteous because of what I have done or not done. I am righteous only because of the blood and finished work of Jesus at the cross!”