Full text of pastor Joseph Prince’s sermon titled ‘Give Me This Mountain’ which was preached on Sunday, 9 September 2018, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore.
Listen to the MP3 Audio here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Joseph Prince – Senior Pastor, New Creation Church, Singapore
How y’all doing Church? Good to see y’all. At least greet three persons around you. Amen. And if you’re greeting the person above you, that could be an angel around you, at least three. Encourage them. Everyone needs encouragement. Regardless of how they appear outside, everyone needs encouragement.
You’ll be surprised that the most sanguine among us, the most optimistic people, sometimes they are the ones that need encouragement. Never feel like you know, I think, you know, I’ll be embarrassed if it turned out to be… no, the word of encouragement. That’s why prophecy… the gift of prophecy is to be exercised in the body of Christ above any other gifts, even above the gift of healing. The Bible says rather that you prophesy, rather that you prophesy. Amen.
Prophecy speaks to men unto edification, building them up, exhortation, and comfort, drawing people close to God, and comfort. Boy, we need comfort in this world.
Do you realize that the world out there, everything is about transaction, commerce, money, you are looked upon as you are here to give me a profit, you are here to increase my income? But somewhere there must be a place where we love each other, not because of what you can give but because I love you. You, you, I love you.
And you know where you find that place? In the church, in the house of God. Amen. I know not every church experience has been along those lines around the world. But when God looks at the church, the church is the earth’s last bastion of hope. It is the only place that you will find true love, real answers, Heaven’s cure for earthly cares.
So here in the house of God is where you find not just God loving us, but us loving one another. And then another place where you find love and you know that people love you for who you are is home, our families. It should always be the place where when a child comes home is a place of refuge, is a place of an oasis of love. An oasis where they know that they will be accepted with all their mistakes.
So parents, do not turn your little homes, and some of you not so little, into another school and please don’t turn into a principal’s office. It’s a place of hope; they’ve got enough out there. Your husband has enough out there. When he comes home and you tell him, you know, I always appreciate what you’re doing for the family. Your words will sink in his heart.
And during those moments when he thinks of you all by himself and comparing you with other ladies who may look even more attractive in his workplace, those words you speak will sink. They are right on eagle’s wings into his heart. And he will start thinking, yep, you can see that lovely shell out there but is she able to give the kind of word that my wife gives, amen. Your words will penetrate the hardest hearts. The crust of that heart will just break open.
When you say things like you know, you are a special man, you are truly a man to me. Amen. Even a man like this will be like this. Praise the Lord. Amen. Don’t think for one moment just because a man has muscles, he doesn’t need encouragement. Amen. He needs encouragement.
Wherever you’re watching this, this giant needs encouragement. Am I right? Am I helping you here? Amen. Are you encouraged? Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
All right, let’s go right to Galatians Chapter 4 for our study today and what the Lord has for us is going to be exciting? Because I’m talking to God’s children. I’m breaking the living bread and feeding you bite size, Amen.
LEVELS OF INTERPRETATION IN HEBREW
And always remember when you come to church. Yes, no doubt we, we write down what we learn. We look at the references, but many times we are taught that the Bible is for us to apply. You know, in the Hebrew there is a word called “PaRDeS” from where the English derived the word paradise, but paradise usually is a location, a place.
But PaRDeS is the levels of interpretation in Hebrew of the Torah. There is a Parsha (Peshat), you know, which is a superficial reading, and then there Remez which is the application which most churches, most people around the world when they study the Bible, they stop at the Remez level. But if you go down all the way, the lowest is Sod; it is the mysteries that is unfolded to us by the Holy Spirit. And then there’s Darash, there is a meaning behind those words that is not seen superficially and that is in the areas of typology.
And I shared the last time that whatever happened to the children of Israel in the past, by the way, you see there at PaRDeS… Amen. Parsha, Remez, Darash, and Sod, which is the secret.
This to me, is important, because when we read the Bible, if the Bible is just application, when you study Joshua, you study Moses, then you think, okay, what did Moses do? Well, some of the things that he did was, was back then, right and it was just. He will destroy one person, so that the rest will not be defiled, the rest will not be destroyed ultimately, right?
We don’t do that today. We let the courts do that. The body of Christ operates on a different principle: the principle of grace. We are a heavenly people. When someone does us wrong, we forgive. Now I am not talking about people taking advantage of you financially and things like that, where there is a court thing, a court case involved, but even then, let’s resolve in the church.
The Bible says, it is sad when you go to unbelieving people to resolve your problems, they can resolve in the church. And then Paul makes up this statement that, you know, strips off the pride of all the Corinthian believers. He says that: is there no wise men among you? Is there no wise men in the church? We can gather the wise men, and we can resolve it.
That’s why we say whatever it is, whether you are contemplating divorce or whatever, don’t go to the world, at least not to the world, first. There are wise men in the church. Sit down, amen. Even your husband is not willing, we got the wise men will know what to do. In the multitude of counselors, there is safety (Proverbs 11:14).
A pastor asked advice from my sister, and from my aunt, and from my best friend at work and all that. I’m glad for them, God bless them. But the Bible says in the multitude of counselors… the word counsel in the Bible denotes wisdom, people who have a walk with God, people who hear God, and who’s able to give you Godly counsel.
So in a multitude of counselors, there is victory, another place that says there is safety, hallelujah. So you find that in the house of God.
So every time you come, listen, every time you come to the house of God, not only, you know, time of fellowship, but also just being in the house of God, there is an atmosphere, of course, it is the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the shekinah glory of God. Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst (Matthew 18:20), right?
But then Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So even individually, he never leaves us. So why does He say… Why then does he say where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst? Why does he say that? There must be a special anointing when more than one gather together in His name. And he gives us in His mercy, the smallest plurality for that kind of corporate anointing to be released, where two or three are gathered together.
PASTOR PRINCE LEADS THE CONGREGATION IN A TIME OF MINISTERING
So there’s something even right now as I’m speaking, God is healing someone. You have a stomach condition; you’ve been having gastritis the whole day yesterday came on and off. I want to see is it coming on and off, and you still had it this morning, but the Lord is healing you right now. You sense like warmth in all over your stomach and God is healing you.
And somebody else is being healed right now, of a right shoulder condition and if you move your shoulder up and down, you see the Lord has touched you, the Lord has healed you. You do it right now as I give the word do it in Jesus name, amen.
And by the way, I want you to just stand up, if I call your condition up, stand up. Okay, stand up in the presence of the Lord. The anointing is here to heal you. Amen. All kinds of stomach conditions are being healed, all kinds. Amen. Someone has just been healed of that gastritis and all kinds of condition is being healed right now. It’s going down to the to the reproductive organs and things like that prostatitis, prostatitis, inflammation of your prostate. If there is you stand to your feet, the Lord is healing you, the Lord is making you whole. Amen, obstruction in that area. Stand up to your feet right now. God removes obstacles. Amen. Not by might, not by power but by His Spirit. In Jesus name, just stand to your feet in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you Lord.
Joints that are not working and knee condition, ankle, Ankle joints, knee joints, shoulder joints, your neck, all your joints that’s not working, your fingers, just stand to your feet right now and start moving that area, start moving that area, start moving that joint in Jesus name, start moving it right now in Jesus name. Thank you, Lord Jesus. We will give you praise. We thank you Lord. I wasn’t expecting this after I started preaching,
We are talking about the Lord’s presence in his house, he manifests. There is the manifestation of the Spirit. This is a demonstration of the Spirit, The Lord is healing your sister, the one with the veil, shawl, right? God is healing and you’ll be having more than one condition. Is that true? And can you just call out your condition? Because God is healing you in a mighty way. And okay, now move that elbow now. Move it, move it. What’s happening? No pain at all. Praise the Lord.
There’s something else. God is healing you of… your knee; now move that knee up and down. Praise the Lord. More than one condition. The Lord can just sweep it at one go. You may be seated, sister. Thank you, Lord Jesus. You may be seated. Thank you, Lord. Give the Lord praise and worship people, He is manifesting His presence.
All right, there’s someone here, I see you having problems sleeping because your back is hurting you. And when you turn around, I see you’re jockeying for position that will give you relief and who is that person, is on the left side of your back. Okay. Is that you, sir? And you’ve been trying to sleep? You’ve been having this for a few days. On/Off. Okay, so when you were struggling to sleep; was it this morning? This morning, and you’re trying to find a place. Did you sleep finally? You didn’t sleep? Thank you for coming to church. And then thank you for coming to church. Father in Jesus name, touch that condition right now. Father, put it right in Jesus name. Here it goes, that warm that you feel coming to your back right now is the power of the Holy Spirit. Be healed, my brother, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; be healed. Amen. Now bend, bend, bend your back, move around, move around, bend your back. Is the pain still there? No pain. Praise the Lord.
Now you know something bend like this, bend upwards? How was it? Okay, praise the Lord.
I’m going to give you a revelation right now that I’ve never shared. But I just learned this from the Lord. Remain standing the rest of you. God is healing you, adjusting you, removing groves, imparting what is lacking, hormonal imbalance. I’m seeing all this happening. He’s adding or he’s taking away or he’s adjusting, restoring.
WHY HEALING IS YOURS TODAY!
I’m going to share with you this. In all the offerings in the Old Testament, and all the animals, the sacrificial victims that are killed is a direct thing. There’s kind of a vein here, that when you slice it, they die almost instantaneously; they are unconscious and they die. It is very humane way of killing the animal, and the Jewish people observe this very carefully. And that’s why it’s good to eat animals like that, who are killed like that, because the poison does not go into their system. If they are tortured, they die slowly, the poison go into the system and you eat the meat. But when they slice it, at the throat here, very fast death comes in, they are unconscious, they don’t feel the pain, and that’s it.
So that’s true, and then they put them on the cross or the spike, or the alter of burnt offering. That’s how they killed the sacrificial victims in the Old Testament, is either the man who is a sinner that gets killed or his lamb, but he brings in the lamb and he lays his hands on the lamb and the lamb is killed because when he lays his hands on the lamb, all his sins are imparted to the lamb so the land becomes liable for his sins. So that’s a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Then the lamb is put on the altar, after the lamb is killed and this is how it is killed. In the pictures that we have shown you, if you put a knife at the neck, that’s where it happens, if you slice. And it is the offeror that kills the lamb, you’ll be told where to slice that nerve, real quick and it’s a very sharp knife.
I said all that to tell you this, but why is it? The animals were never tortured in the Old Testament. They were put to death for the sins of the offeror as a sin offering. But why is it Jesus went through such torture before he went to the cross? He was beaten, He was scourged. Literally, He was tortured before He went to the cross. So we know that He’s the fulfilment of all the sacrifices, the five offerings of Leviticus.
But in the five offerings, all the animals are killed in a humane way, but our Lord went through terrible beatings and scourgings. Why? That is not fulfilling any type in the Old Testament of any of the five offerings, I should say four offerings because the fifth one has no blood, it is the meal offering. One of them has no blood, it is the meal offering: flour offering, the grain offering.
But Jesus went througlh torture that you might know, by His stripes. There was an extra that he went through, He was beaten. The sister they got healed just now, He was faithful 2000 years ago, through His beating.
So right now all of you who are standing, many of you are already healed in Jesus name. Those who have joint conditions, move your joints right now. Move your neck and move your ankle, wherever your problem is, move it right now in Jesus name, those of you who are standing. And if no pain has left you, if there’s still a bit of pain, just keep on moving that area. 30 fold, 60 fold, 100 fold in Jesus name. Grant them that, Lord.
Now if pain is gone, those of you, not everyone who’s standing has a joint condition. But if you are that person and the pain is gone, do a big like this so that from Father can see you. Okay, just this way pain is gone. The pain is gone. Alright, pain is gone. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Look at all these precious people. Thank you, Lord. Yeah, way up there. Don’t forget those up there. All right, camera one more time. Just wave. The cameras trying to pick you up. All right. That’s right. Thank you, Jesus. Up there. Up there. Amen. Wave, wave all of you up there, the King. Okay. All of you. Wait, praise the Lord. Come on church. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
And the rest of you. Receive your healing right now from the crown of your head through the soles of your feet. Father in heaven, I release into their bodies, Lord, that healing virtue that was purchased by the stripes falling on Jesus’ back… by His stripes, you are healed ((Isaiah 53:5). Be healed in Jesus name. That power goes into your body right now effecting a cure in that organ, in that function. In Jesus name, receive it right now. Amen.
I know some conditions you can’t tell until sometime later or after the doctors have verified. But please do write to the church and let us know. But if you know right now, you know that pain has left your body or you don’t have that fever anymore, or the pain in your stomach is gone, just do a big wave one more time to the glory of God. Look around you people. Look around you, come on look around you, you get all these precious people. Amen.
And what God is doing here, He is doing also in all the different satellite venues that is watching right now, in all the different locations MBS and all the different places in the great world. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus, in Jesus name and all the people said, Amen. You may be seated.
Thank you, Lord. All right. We took some time for that. And I didn’t plan for that. Okay, where was I?
This is the Lord service. Amen. It is the Lord’s house. I am not the boss. Amen. He is the Chief Shepherd and if He wants to call the shots, let Him do it. Amen. And just because you sat down does not mean the Lord has stopped working. Amen. The Lord is still working in your bodies, in your life.
You know, the Lord loves to work. In the four gospels you find that the gospel of Mark portrays our Lord Jesus as a worker, a divine worker. So the symbol of Mark is the ox, untiring, strong to labour. The four faces of Cherubim is the four faces of Jesus in the four gospels.
So Mark, is that strong ox, it opens up with no genealogy. You don’t ask a servant for his pedigree. Amen. It starts immediately and I’ve done a preaching on this on chapter one, immediately says, Immediately, immediately, immediately straight away, straight away, straight away. And forthwith, forthwith, forthwith, straight away, immediately… is always work, work. After one work is done, another work of miracle, another work of restoration, another work of bringing joy. The divine worker is always working.
And you know, that’s how it opens. You know how he ends the gospel of Mark? Like this, and the disciples went everywhere, the Lord working with them, confirming the word with signs following. Even though in heaven, He’s still working.
Isn’t He wonderful? Isn’t He wonderful? Isn’t He wonderful? Isn’t Jesus my Lord wonderful. Eyes have seen, ears have heard, It’s recorded in God’s word. Isn’t Jesus my Lord? His name is Wonderful. Yeah, His name… one of His Names is Wonderful. And in Hebrew, you’d be surprised it is actually the name Pele. Pele got a name from there again. Alright, Pele, Pele is wonder working miracle. It means the miracle one. The miracle worker. Wonderful, has ideas and connotations of miracles, wonder working miracles, wonder working Savior, producing the wonders.
That’s why in the Gospel of Matthew, which is portraying him as the King of the Jews, it has the genealogy. But because it’s a gospel of kingship, the genealogy of Jesus doesn’t go all the way to Adam, the man, the first man, it goes all the way to Abraham, who was first promised that his seat will be kings, kings will come forth.
But in the Gospel of Luke, the gospel of Jesus as the Man, the Son of Man, it goes all the way to Adam, the first man.
And in the Gospel of John, there’s no genealogy. Why? Because the Gospel of John portrays Jesus as the Son of God… Deity. That’s why there’s no genealogy. As if He has no father, no mother, and we know His earthly father is not His father. Amen. He was born of a virgin.
Then you have this statement in the first very first verse of John, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Why did He come? Well, today I’m going to share with you why He came. And it’s going to bring joy to your heart because all of you just enjoy something that I’m about to preach. Did you like that, the revelation about the fact that He had something, He did something that no other sacrificial victim went through, all the animals. Do you love Him for that? Amen.
AS A CHILD OF GOD, YOU HAVE AN INHERITANCE
In Galatians four, it says (Galatians 4:1-2) the heir as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave though is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the Father. Now Paul is saying as long as an heir… even heir of a large conglomerate, multibillion dollar and he is the sole heir, he’s the only son.
I want to share with you a very interesting story of inheritance. And it goes like this, is a true story. A homeless man supposed to be living on the streets of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in Bolivia, fled police. A homeless man fled from the police, who are bringing him news of a $6 million inheritance. He was a homeless man, and when he saw the police coming, he fled. But the police were coming to tell him that he has a $6 million inheritance. This happened in Bolivia,
Tomas Martinez, 67 years old apparently thought the police were about to arrest him for his alcohol and drug habits. The man disappeared without a trace causing Bolivian newspapers to speak of him in 2000 as a new millionaire paradoxically not knowing his fortune.
The inheritance came to Mr. Martinez from his ex-wife, Ines Gajardo Olivares, who inherited the money herself from family members. She evidently did not blame him for leaving her several years ago. At the point of this story being released, the man has not yet been found. I did think whether he knew about it but didn’t to go back to her? or I don’t know. Anyway, you’ll get it some of you anyway.
But the thing is, is it possible that you see, a police is an authority figure and unfortunately, a lot of people see God as an authority figure. But the authorities, in this case, the police were not coming to him to find fault with him, to indict him for a crime, or to arrest him for a crime. Right, the courts will do the indictment.
But the thing is that when he saw them, he fled. How many believers are like that? The moment God comes near them, they flee. When God wants to give His inheritance, all that He is to them. It’s sad, because you see this happening in the body of Christ.
And yet, the word I hear in my spirit is that there’s so much land yet to be possessed. There is so much land yet to be possessed. And we are not possessing our possessions, so here it says the heir as long as he’s a child does not differ at all from a slave.
So you know, a slave in fact, can drive the master’s car. But an heir, the true heir, as long is a child and the word child here is the népios is in the Greek, which means an infant child, he cannot drive his father’s car. Why? Because he is a child. Not because he’s bad. He’s a child.
So it says he’s under guardians and stewards. Next verse, even so we… now we here refers to the Jewish people. Paul is saying even we, when we were children, when we were népios or when we were infants, he was referring to the time in the Old Testament, the time of Moses, the time of the crossing of the Red Sea, the times when they were at the Mount Sinai receiving the 10 commandments, they were népios , they were children, even though they were like children of God, you know, the Bible does describe the children of Israel as… out of Egypt have I called my child so…
But the real born-again ones is all of us today. Even the Jew has to be born again. But in a sense, they were nepios. And that’s why they have a ritual by which they adopt their own a birth son, is their own birth son is their flesh and blood. We think of adoption as adopting somebody else, but not your flesh and blood, to become your son.
But in the Jewish mind, when they have bar mitzvah, it is their flesh and blood, being ordained or being adopted as a son of the law. Bar, which means son, Mitzvah, the law… son of the law. From then on, he will participate as an adult in all the Jewish activities. From then on, he is seen as an adult. From then on, he can marry at the age of 13 for a male, age of 12, for a female… bar mitzvah. So they have this ritual.
Likewise, Israel were children, they need to be born again to become sons. Are you with me so far?
So what happened was this, the Bible says when the fullness…. even so we, when we were children, Nepios, we were in bondage under the elements of the world. The word elements here, please don’t think of the hurricane, the typhoon, the sun, the moon, the stars and all that. Think of it as… the word stoicheion here as rules and regulations. We were under the rules and regulation. Literally stoicheion has the word, the ABCs of language, the very first beginnings; that’s the 10 commandments.
And we think of the 10 commandments, studying the 10 commandments as something deep, when actually it is the ABCs of Israel.
So they were under the ABCs. But when the fullness of the kronos, the time had come… when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5). You see that?
Now don’t let the word adoption as sons throw you off that we are not really sons, but God adopt us as sons. No, the Bible says we are born of God, just like bar mitzvah, they take their own flesh and blood and they go through a ritual of bar mitzvah where they become sons. They are no more a child, they are now sons.
And in fact, the word adoption is not there in the Bible. It is actually one word huiós, which is son; huestasia which means placing a son, a son placement. Amen. We are now sons, we are no more children. In fact, all those of you who are born again last week at the youth rally, amen, you are now sons of God. There is a growth spiritually, I know that, I understand that.
But in the context of Galatians, it is not talking about spiritual growth. Spiritual growth you find in the epistles of John, but here he is talking about growth, amen. Growth, just like in the book of Hebrews, all the word sanctification, sanctify. That is not referring to your experiential holiness, experiential sanctification, that is true that is found in Peter.
But in Hebrew, sanctification is always positional. Are you listening? Are you listening? So likewise here, the moment you’re born again you are a son, you can take the car; it’s all yours, whatever you want. Turn to your neighbor, even your lady and say, I’m a son of God. That’s how God sees you. You are sons.
GOD WANTS YOU TO HAVE A SPIRIT OF SONSHIP
He says, because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. And therefore you’re no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God, through Christ (Galatians 4:6-7).
The Spirit of His Son is very important because people are trying to bring us back to praying prayer with a wrong spirit. They’re praying to God, you can pray to God, even you can call God El Shaddai, I got no problem with that. You can call God Elohim, I got no problem with that. I teach the names of God. But the name that Jesus came to reveal is Father.
When you come to God and you say, Father, now you’re in the right spirit. Jesus taught the disciples, The Lord’s Prayer and I’m sure that ever since on the Sermon on the Mount, when He taught them the Lord’s Prayer, they’ve been praying the Lord’s prayer every single day. Because they said, Lord, teach me how to pray. Right? The Lord taught them how to pray, are you listening? Right?
But then, in the upper room, Jesus says, up till now you have asked nothing in My name, but they have cast out demons in His name. They have done amazing miracles in His name. But, what does this mean? Up till now you have asked nothing in My name, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you. What does He mean by that? (John 16:23) In that day, you will ask Me nothing. Whatever you ask the Father… obviously, He is talking about new kind of prayer, which I don’t have time to do in this particular service.
But just let you know that with every dispensation, even the prayers changed; the way you pray is very important. You want God to answer you today. If I may, Elijah’s time, I’ll pray like this, Oh Lord God of Abraham, amen. of Isaac, and of Jacob. And I see Christians praying that way, either to impress other people, or to let people think that they love Israel. You don’t have to do that to tell people you love Israel.
It’s okay to pray once a while God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but honestly, if you pray that in a spirit of the Old Testament, your prayers won’t be answered, even though you’re praying to a true God, why? God wants us to know we are His children, and He is Father, and the Spirit of His Son must come forth when we pray, are you listening?
People are trying to get present day blessings, in a new covenant with an Old Testament spirit of slavery. You can’t, and the slavery there is from fear of God, the context is very clear.
Sons and daughters of God, when you call God what do you call God? Father, and Jesus says, I’ve kept them through Thy name, I’ve revealed to them Your name. I’ve given them Your name, kept through Your name. So the more we talk about the Father is a protection for us. Amen. It will give a sense of family, a sense of love, the Father and all His wonderful family.
I forgive you because you are family, are you listening?
Now, the Church wants to inherit, it’s all about inheritance. It’s all about inheritance. Here the heir, you know, and it says that you’re no longer a slave but a son, then an heir of God… you see it’s all about inheritance.
The devil does not want you to learn all this about grace and all that in your Spirit of sonship. Because it’s all about inheritance. He wants to control the earth. He wants to control the affairs of the world. He wants to govern the affairs of the world. That has been his ambition from the start to be like God, and to rule over the earth. But now God is making all of you heirs of God; it’s all about sonship.
THERE IS MUCH MORE INHERITANCE FOR YOU TO POSSESS!
Now, what happened just now was that some people received healing that’s part of your inheritance. Are you listening? There’s something very interesting. Years ago, I used to study things and I used to study… I asked questions nobody asked and I studied things that people don’t bother about.
Many years after that, I find that the questions I asked and I found the answers to, God is bringing up at the right time. You know, and when questions are asked. One of the things is this Joshua and Caleb, we see these two types being compared all the time, by the way in Hebrews. Y’all saw the order, Gideon and Barak, right, and…
How come it is not chronologically correct? And the Holy Spirit put it on purpose. I won’t be sharing that today. But I just let you know that there are two types of Christians. There are two types of Christians. Number one, you have Abraham, a man of faith, you have Lot, and you know Bible calls a Lot… even L-O-T, his nephew, Lot with a lot of trouble. You know, God calls him righteous. Not just Abram is righteous, all both of them are righteous by faith, even Lot is righteous.
The Bible says that righteous men who vexed his righteous soul (2 Peter 2:8), God calls him righteous. He’s righteous by faith, definitely by faith, amen. And so is Abraham. Abraham is righteous by faith. But one was defeated, one was victorious.
When the fires came to destroy, it destroyed everything that Lot had, because Lot was in the wrong place. But when the fires came, Abraham saw from the high mountain with crisp clear air, having fellowship with God looking at the judgement, by having fellowship with God. He was on a mountain.
Lot lost his wife. In a sense, he lost his two daughters, he had no sons, two daughters, because they thought it was the end of the world. So they conspired to sleep with him, and they produced children by the father and the two kids became the father of the Moabites and Ammonites. So here you go. He lost everything, lost his family life, lost his wife literally, became a pillar of salt. And all because he’s righteous, but he was worldly. He practiced the worldly things, and it wasn’t God punishing for worldliness. When God’s judgement came on the world, he was there.
There are some things we don’t touch. Personally, I will never expose my son to Harry Potter’s stuff. I will never allow him to say those incantations, I will never touch New Age stuff. You’re looking at someone who was steeped in it before he was a Christian. I know what they believe in. I practiced it. I know the ideas of it: promises of power and, and it’s all empty.
I found the true power. His name is Jesus, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Amen.
So I’m telling you, now they’re trying to get your children to believe, to believe New Age stuff. Be careful. You know if something is, you know, like, symbols of evil, don’t bring into your house. Then don’t wonder you got nightmare. ‘Pastor Prince, we can’t be possessed’. You can’t be possessed but you can be oppressed.
You know, oppress is from outside. You can’t be possessed. Yes, I agree. Every true born again believer has the Holy Spirit but you can be attacked from outside. There’s some things you brought into your house. So anyway, that is just extra.
And you know, when it’s in your house, you will sense it in your spirit. Don’t bring the junk into your house. Yeah, guys, do not allow porn to come into your house. I will tell you right now, if you allow porn to come to your house, whether it’s through the computer or through your heart bag, or whatever, you’re bound to bring a lot of disharmony, a lot of chaos, a lot of strife, a lot of problems in your family. And you will think it’s your wife and you will think it’s your husband. No, it is that porn.
I don’t know why I’m saying this. But anyway, back to inheritance. So one of the questions I was asking is this: I read this in Joshua 11. Look at Joshua 11, last verse, So Joshua took the whole land. So Joshua invaded the land, conquered all the way from Jericho, conquered one land after another. There’s one place for Hazor, where Joshua burned down Hazor.
When you go to Israel the next time, one of the places you must go is Hazor. You go to Hazor, you literally walk into the palace of the king of Hazor. And it’s left as it is… is left as it is. But you can see the layers of ash, the black layers, am I right? We were there. Layers of ash all around, just touch the lay of ash and just imagine you’re touching the level of Joshua.
Joshua burned down the city of Hazor. So one city after another, he conquered. And these are people that stood in God’s promised land, they are squatters in the land. They are trying to promote their gods against the God of Israel. And God had them all removed for the true owners to possess the land, because the land belongs to God.
So one after another, then finally came to this, it says, ‘So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had said to Moses, and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel, according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war.’(Joshua 11:23) The land rested from war.
The land rested from war, so keep that in mind. No more war, right? The land rested from war. But then… this chapter 11, look at chapter 13.
Joshua 13:1: Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to Joshua, ‘You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land, yet to be possessed’.
Joshua, you are old. By the way, Joshua died at 110. When God said this to him, he was 92 years old. And God said to him, you are old, advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed.
So is this a contradiction? The Bible says the land rested from war. Joshua took the land. The land rested from war, and yet there’s very much land yet to be possessed. Very simple. Look up here; it is one thing to do warfare, it’s another thing to get what you fought for, but never possessing it. You fought for it, but you don’t possess it.
There’s a verse I remember in Proverbs that says: the slothful or the lazy man does not roast what he takes in hunting (Proverbs 12:27). He hunts for it. He plans for it. He finds the deer; he shoots the arrow. The deer falls, he goes to the deer, he cuts in pieces for his family to eat, takes the coat to wear and things like that. But they do all that, they cook for his family, they cut off the coat and all that.
No. he took it, brought it back to his barn and let it rot. Why? Too lazy; slothful men does not roast what he takes in hunting. How many people buy CDs and books and never read them or hear them? The Bible says only one reason you say no time. God says no, slothful.
You don’t meditate on what you have received. Yeah, you take down notes. Now there’s even an official Joseph Prince notes, you take down notes, take down notes, you got a lot of notes. But it’s not a matter of you know… I swallow everything at the restaurant, it is a five star restaurant, I’m telling the food is so good, I swallow them up. It’s not a matter of swallowing them up. It’s not a savouring bite by bite. That, my friend, is enjoying food.
You meditate, masticate, chew, let your tongue feel it. It’s the wrong time to tell you all this about lunch. Just let the umami flavours sink in. Right? And you feel it at the back of your tongue, the front of your tongue. You know, that’s an experience. God gave you a tongue.
Why did God give you a tongue? God can just give us plain, just a tongue with just plain taste, one taste; nobody will complain, because nobody will know otherwise. It’ll be that normal become normal, but God gave you different varieties, different kind of tastes, varied taste, variegated tastes, right because He loves you. He wants you to enjoy life.
The Bible, there’s a verse that says God gives us richly all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17), but not to abuse, not to be immoral. Amen.
Even producing a child, God gives you enjoyment. Right? At the point of greatest enjoyment, a child is formed. But not to take that and almost like insult God and go to find other women and more and more women, you’re abusing what God gave. The world cannot create, God created sex. Now from inheritance, like I came to sex, right? So it’s very interesting.
Okay, at the point of greatest pleasure, a child is formed. God could have made such and nobody will know the difference, alright, you go somewhere, must climb first, the highest mountain before you can produce a child. You want a child? Climb the highest mountain. Yeah, I can’t do it. Then exercise down here until you can climb.
But when you reach down there, husband and wife face each other. Alright, this is how you have a child; slap each other 10 times. Right? You wouldn’t know the difference because that will be a normal then. Now you know that’s abnormal, that’s weird, because normal has become normal.
But who is to tell you what’s normal? Thank God, God gives us all things to enjoy. Let’s honor Him. But by the way, those who abused it never really enjoy. Alright, from another partner, to animals and on and on. You know, it’s all kinds of perversion, why they cannot find that level again. Only God can give you that. I mean, like drugs, It’s like drugs. You take sleeping pills all the time, the quality, yeah you sleep. Actually, you knock yourself off but you don’t sleep.
And as you wake up, you’re still tired. But when you sleep God’s way, claiming His promise, He gives His beloved sleep, you sleep and you wake up, you feel rested.
So drugs, man’s manufactured way of trying to produce results in your body cannot compare with God. Now, if you’re under medication, the doctors advise you that’s a different thing. But you’re medicating yourself, you’re getting drugs from somewhere, I’m talking to you. You will never be as good. Sounds good at first. It always sounds good at first. But nobody gets too much heaven no more, It’s much harder to come by, I’m waiting in line. You know that old hymn. No. Alright folks, now, listen, you will never get that place, unless you stop the addiction in Jesus name. Receive from the Lord, you’ll never reach that place until you stop. Only God can give you true satisfaction. And that applies to everything in life. Okay, I don’t know who needed that. But that was good Praise God.
Let’s come back to this again. So there remains very much meant to be possessed. So it’s one thing about conquering and conquering. Joshua’s job was to conquer and conquer and conquer and conquer. But finally he has conquered everything. Right. And that was in Joshua 11. From Joshua 11, it says the land rested.
From Joshua 11, you don’t find Joshua conquering anymore. That was the last in the book of Joshua. No, no more conquering.
Okay, yet in this chapter three chapters after, God says there remains very much land to be possessed. Now what is God saying? He’s not saying conquer to get more land. He’s saying right now you’re not possessing what you have conquered. The Hebrew there is Yarash, which is heir, the word heir… inherit, possess. We’re not possessing what we have fought for. We’re not enjoying our possessions; it is ours. Are you listening?
I mean, there are groups of Christians today fighting against group of Christians saying, well, no such thing as praying in tongues, no such things as healing and things like that. What’s the point? Jesus died? Why did He go through all the extra that other lambs down through Jewish history have never gone through, He went through the extra before the cross, why? And then we squandered the inheritance by fighting over it. It is all about inheritance.
Esau was rejected because of him despising the inheritance. God is saying that there’s very much more land to be possessed. In other words, Yarash, inheritance, you’re not taking your inheritance.
How do I do it? Same chapter, verse six, God, in fact, from verse one, all the way down, verse two, verse three, God lists all the areas where the squatters came back. The land has been conquered by Israel, but the squatters are back. The squatters are in the land, land belongs to God’s people and yet no one is possessing the land.
Always remember when you don’t possess, don’t think it remains the same; the enemy steps in. You don’t teach your children the right things; the enemy steps in. Whether it’s through school friends, whether it’s through TV, you know, nature abhors a vacuum, it will try to fill in something unless we tell our children the right things, that’s there already nothing can come in.
Don’t think for one moment, if parents treat attending church as optional, don’t be surprised one day your kids treat Jesus as irrelevant.
So God advice was this, in verse six, same chapter after He told Joshua there’s many, much more land to be possessed… them… all these people that are squatters…I will drive out from before the children of Israel, only divide it by lot to Israel as an inheritance (Joshua 13:6).
Get your lot, get your portion. Now from here on, it does not mean there is no more fighting involved. But the fighting is a fight of faith. In other words, it is not fight to get land, it is fight to possess what is yours. It’s called fight the good fight of faith. Are you with me?
Now I’m going to give something a revelation, you’re ready for this. Now this revelation is going to, if it’s okay with you, some of you, you look very, very young, even though I know your age. So this revelation will make you look younger and feel younger. Are you okay with that? Just my time is catching up, so I might not be able to give you this revelation. I may put it in the Official Joseph Prince but I’m not too sure whether I can. Because of time, I want to go slow.
And this is the thing, Joshua, verse one again, back to verse one, same chapter. (Joshua 13:1) Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him, ‘You are old, advanced in years and there remains very much land yet to be possessed.’
CALEB’S SECRET TO STAYING YOUNG AND STRONG
However, there is someone who is very close to Joshua. Actually, he’s also advanced in years, but he never grew old. Who is that? Caleb. Remember, Joshua and Caleb went into the promised land, to spy out the land with all the other leaders of the tribes. And they are the only two ones that came back and said, the land that God gives us in the English Bible is an exceeding good land, in the Hebrew literally repeat is a very, very good land.
I don’t care how many spies say it is a difficult land, a land that devours its inhabitants. They are giants in the land. I don’t care about all this evil report, as far as I’m concerned if God gives the land to me, God loves me. And it’s a very, very good land, because it’s from God.
Your inheritance, child of God, is very, very good. very, very good. So Caleb, on the other hand, he was a contemporary of Joshua, they were both very close, about the same age. Seven years apart… they are both we will say in today’s vernacular, they’re aged men, right? Old man.
And yet Joshua is growing old. In other words, something about… I am going to give you a secret right now. If your life is always fighting and fighting and stress… being stressed out, being stressed out and fighting and fighting and being stressed out, being stressed out instead of the rest of faith, you’ll wear out real fast.
So what’s the secret of Caleb? Let’s find a secret, shall we? This is chapter 13, Right. Now He’s going to show you a secret in chapter 14.
(Joshua) Chapter 14 is where Caleb says to Joshua… says Joshua, today, I’m 85 years old, and I’m as strong today as I was 45 years ago. Would you like to see it? And let’s see his secret. Okay.
Let’s go to Joshua 14:6: Then the children of Judah – Caleb is from Judah; Jesus came from the tribe of Judah — came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite said to him — and Caleb spoke these words to Joshua… “You know the word which the LORD said… stop. The very first word that came out of Caleb’s mouth is, You know the word which God spoke, You know the word which the Lord said, You know the word which the Lord said.
Many children of God do not know what the Lord said. They know what Pastor Prince says; they know what the speaker says. And we have faith as long as we are teaching the Word of God in its context. But you must know yourself what the Lord said.
Said about what Pastor Prince? Now this is crucial, about what? If we go back to the Old Testament, if you’re at Mount Sinai, the 10 commandments… well, those are not the things to meditate on, because we are no longer under the law, we are under grace.
So it’s about the LORD’s word that is most important to Caleb. Right… You know the word which the Lord said to Moses, the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea.
When you read the Bible, read the Bible to see Jesus, number one. Emmaus road; things concerning Himself.
Number two, it’s about you and me. It is not just about Israel. If you want to stay young, stay strong, find out what God says about you and me.
A LIST OF OUR INHERITANCE IN CHRIST
For example, in Ephesians 1, we have an inheritance mentioned in Ephesians 1: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with… how many blessings? how many blessings?… every… all is the old king James. Here is every; every is more accurate here because it is the Greek word that says, all can be just all of one type. Right? But in the Greek, every there… actually the word used there is all of different types. Of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. That’s where we are blessed… past tense, who has blessed… past tense who has blessed… We are blessed… past tense… with every spiritual blessing.
Now here it comes one by one… just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy, without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4). You know, when God looks at you, you are holy and without blame.
Now Justin is not perfect, but in my eyes, he’s without blame. Are you listening? A child can commit a crime, but in the eyes of the court, he is without blame. Not sinless, right, but without blame.
So here we go. We are without blame, not because of what we do, but because we are in Christ. And the way God sees us is in love… before Him in love. God is in love with you. When God looks at you, God looks at you in love. Smile at somebody say in love. Your eyes gotta do, your eyes got to do it. Come on, you’re in love. Amen.
Ephesians 1:5-6: Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Here we have it again. huiothesia, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Another inheritance that you have is that you were accepted in the Beloved.
Accepted is not very strong, right? Because it means accepted. It’s more than that. It’s the word highly favored, literally highly favored, is the word charitoó to charis. Now, charitoó appears only two times… only two times in the New Testament. One is over here: we are all highly favored in the Beloved… and the other time guess where? Mary. The angel appeared to Mary and said to Mary, ‘Hail, thou art highly favoured’, charitoó, among women. Now it didn’t say above women. You know the difference? You are highly favored among women, not above women.
This is what every Jewish girl wished for ever since God pronounced the prophecy, the very first prophecy in the Garden of Eden. God said to the snake, Satan possessed snake, ‘upon your belly you shall go and the seed of the woman will crush your head, and you will crush his heel (Genesis 3:15). So from then on, they knew that a woman is going to bring forth.
So every Jewish girl wanted to be that woman. So when an angel appeared to Mary who was probably 14, 15 years old, the angel said, ‘Hail, you are highly favored among women’. Now the same charitoó is yours. You are highly favored in the Beloved.
Now, here God could have said… listen, God could have said, you are highly favored in Christ. But still God feels it is not warm enough. In Him, still not warm enough. So in the courts of heaven, every word is inspired by God. God says, ‘You know what? I want them to feel warm when they think of their inheritance. I want them to know that they’re highly favored in the Beloved Jesus…
Who is the Beloved? Jesus, the same Jesus that God says, You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased. You are now highly favored in the Beloved. In the Beloved, there is such a warm, family word, Beloved.
Wow, do you realize you are highly favored in the Beloved? Do you realize that? Do you realize why you sometimes make mistakes and still, especially after you made mistakes, good things happen. But please don’t think let’s make more mistakes, so that more good things will happen. That’s called stupidity.
But have you ever seen that after your biggest mistake, after your biggest, whatever, you find that there’s a lot of favor, there’s a lot of things? The goodness of God leads us to repentance.
We are highly favored in the Beloved. And that’s why God says pray for those who persecute you. Why? Because they are persecuting God’s Beloved, God’s highly favored, Beloved. Smile at someone say I’m highly favored. I don’t know why but I’m highly favored. Now you know why? You are in Christ. Amen.
Now go back to the story because I got to tell you about Caleb, right? Go back to Caleb. Oh, by the way, must give you one more inheritance. Just read the entire book of Ephesians Chapter One, especially tells you the inheritance but go back to Ephesians one. I must show you this.
Ephesians 1:7: In Him, we have another inheritance, in Him, we have and the word have here is in the present active in the Greek, which means echo… the word is echó. echó can mean passive. Yeah, we have rights in our nation. Yeah, we have a law in our nation that you must not vandalize. We have a muscle man among our pastors. Yes. Like, you know, it’s like an expression we have, you know, we have. But no, this one is not… it’s the same word echó but is the word, ‘hold it; have it in your hands, hold it, hold fast, present active echó.
In Him, we actively hold on to the fact that we have redemption through His blood. We have the forgiveness of sins. Don’t just have a vague idea about it. Some ambiguous idea, it’s mine. Forgiveness of sins is mine. I am a forgiven person. Amen. And it’s right now, not just for your past sins. No one can dispute this. This is a present tense verse. People should memorize this.
In Him, we have redemption. What’s the redemption? The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Now according is not out of, you know how forgiven you are? You are forgiven, kata, according not out of, I can tell you… here take something out of this box. All right. I got some goodies for you. It’s limited out of… if I give you $1. And I have 10 million, I don’t have 10 million. Okay, if I have 10 million in my savings account, and I gave you $1, it is still out of my riches. But if I gave you the entire 10, it is according.
You know, you’re forgiven according to the richness of His grace. If ever a man can measure the riches of His grace in the first place, that’s how forgiven you are. That’s why I’m very strong about forgiveness of sins being preached to such an extent that people think that I’m trying to give you licence to sin, when actually I want people to walk in their inheritance. There’s no way you can believe right and live wrong.
CALEB’S SECRET TO STAYING YOUNG AND STRONG (PART 2)
Okay, let’s go back to Caleb. So the first thing he’s conscious of is the word. We are studying. How come? Joshua grew old, but Caleb did not. We always have two to compare, two righteous men, Abraham and Lot, one victorious; one defeated. Why? Because although they are righteous by faith, one chose to walk with God, one ate with the Lord, one had fellowship with God, one even, you know, almost like argued with the Lord, in intercession, they even laughed about the baby to be born. Not with the Lord, but he and his wife. They had familiar interactions and communion with the Lord.
So are you just happy that your righteous? Are you going to enjoy God? Live for Him. Oh, you can live in Sodom and still be righteous. But everyday he vexed his soul. Everything he sees… at last he lost his family. In a sense, never lost his daughters but in another sense, he lost them.
You cannot live in a depraved… depraved moral atmosphere and expect your children to thrive. Atmospheres around you is very important. You don’t hear God’s name being mentioned. They fall back on their own efforts and thinking and their own mind how to set things out, they go through a world, the world on top of God, the only place is… and don’t let that rock hits or the children’s Sunday school teachers, be your children’s mentors, and be their guide. Parents, take time.
I bought a good book for Justin the other day. And I took time, even though I felt very tired. I didn’t feel like it was a thick book. He likes reading now. So I had to scan through it. And bang, I saw a page full of the different gods of Rome during the time of the Roman conquest over Israel. Then for me, my child has got to learn who is Elijah? Who is Jonah? Who is Joshua? He’s learning all these things. But I bought an expensive, hardcover. Very interesting book about the Romans. But that centrepiece spread is enough for me to not let Justin read it. But who’s going to take time to go through it? All right, someone has to.
You do not know what they’re inviting. I didn’t see Paul there. So I don’t know if Paul is there.
(Joshua 24:15) As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD, that Joshua says.
Okay. (Joshua 14:7): I was 40 years old, when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart.
Anyone 40 years old, shout Hallelujah. Okay. Have a greater Hallelujah. Anyone from 35 to 45, shout. Praise the Lord. 40 years old. I learned these when I was 40 years old, or younger than that. This is the time to mark your date. From this day on, I won’t grow old.
I was 40 years old, he remembers easy. He remembered when he stopped growing old. I was 40 years old when Moses the servant of Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. This is very important that’s why I had it underlined. So you will see it.
He brought back word, they all spied out the land, they all saw the big giant walls, they all saw the tall Anakims, the enemies. They saw the land, okay and they saw the obstacles. They saw the insurmountable walls, but when they came back, the rest of the spies talked about what they saw: the problems they saw.
But Caleb and Joshua… Caleb said, I shared what I saw in my heart. I brought back word to him as it was in my heart.
And you know what he said to them, if you look back? It’s a very, very good land. He treasured the Lord’s word in his heart. I don’t go by what I see, I go with what is in my heart. What God said to me I treasured them. Amen.
How do I know that? Joshua 14:8: Nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt. But… let me stop here and just tell you this, okay.
The inheritance was in Caleb, long before Caleb was in the inheritance. Long before you are enjoying it outwardly, you got to see it inwardly. It was in his heart. Now I’m not talking about New Age visualization here. I’m not talking about the kind of thing. God’s word being in your heart, and seeing what God sees for your future or even your present.
Like God sees you highly favored. What do you say? When you look into the mirror, are you going by what you see? Are you going by what other people see about you? Are you going by what’s in your heart? You’re highly favored in the Beloved. The word that God said about you and me. Amen.
Then he says this. ‘My other brethren made the people’s heart melt’. It’s all about the heart… but I wholly followed the LORD my God. I wholly followed the Lord, my God.
Joshua 14:9: So Moses swore on that day saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance — It’s all about inheritance, people — and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God. There you have it again.
Now look up here, Caleb isn’t talking so much about fighting for new land. He’s talking about possessing. Later you hear him talk about his strength for war. But still, it’s all about possessing. He is saying if I need to fight, I got strength to fight, even at 85.
Watch this. Joshua 14:10: And now behold, the LORD has kept me alive… who kept you alive? People, who keeps you alive, who kept you alive? There are those who have gone but you are alive; who kept you alive? You keep yourself alive? Your doctor kept you alive? The Lord kept you alive. Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain. Unless the Lord is involved in surgery, the surgery is in vain. The Lord kept you alive. Don’t you ever forget that.
The Lord kept me alive. And Caleb knew it. The Lord kept me alive. As he said, again, pointing to God’s word, ‘these 45 years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel wandered in the wilderness. And now here I am this day, 85 years old.
Now, what is this? Since the LORD spoke this word to Moses, what word is that? We just read it, people. Look at the verse before this, verse nine. Go back to verse nine. This is the word… Moses swore on that day saying, ‘surely the land — and it’s from God — surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance, and your children’s forever. When he heard that, he stopped growing old, it’s about inheritance.
The Lord let me live long enough to possess all my possessions. Are you listening people? It’s about inheritance. God says, the land that you went to spy out, that you stepped on it, it will belong to you and your children.
Now, go down to verse 10. Okay, now here I am this day 85 years old, look at this people…
Joshua 14:11: As yet I’m as strong this day, as on the day that Moses sent me. Now he’s not using poetic language. Because if he’s lying, it is a lie. These are people who have received the 10 commandments. They don’t lie. These are leaders of God. He’s a strong, I’m as strong this day as I was the day Moses sent me. When he was about 40 years, when I was 40 years old, my strength, same strength.
And in case you’re wondering, spiritual strength, pastor. He goes on to say, just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. This is the daily life, for war, you can’t… you can’t say this is just spiritual, the source is spiritual, but it manifests. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Even the youths shall faint and the young man shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
Joshua 14:12: Now therefore… he told Joshua… give me this mountain. I love it. That can be a title of a book. Give me this mountain. 85 years old, still strong, still young. His contemporary was advancing and getting old. God never said to Caleb, Caleb now you are old. Because Caleb always kept God’s Word in his mind.
You see, I’m showing you different types of Christians. I just want to entice you to go for the best. They are those defeated righteous men, victorious righteous man, Abraham and lot.
And now we have two great men, two great men, Joshua and Caleb. But one fought a lot until the time came to him, by the way he died at a good age 110 years old. Caleb, there’s no record.
He says, ‘give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day, for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said’. In the Hebrew, it is more like not if since the Lord is with me. That’s the idea. Like he knows the Lord has been with him all these while.
I’ll drive them out, and Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron, Hebron. 85, he possessed his possession. And you know, Hebron is the same Hebron that they saw the Anakims there. Alright, because you have to pass by there to go up to Jericho. And he says, I’m going to possess this place. Until today Hebron is remembered as a place… Kirjath Arba is a place where Caleb’s name is remembered.
PRACTICAL KEYS TO POSSESS YOUR INHERITANCE
I do want to share you a very short story in the very next chapter, Chapter 15, right. And this is about his daughter and I’m finished with this. Okay.
The time came for his daughter to get married. So I’m putting this challenge also for any young men out there. My daughter is now 19 years old so. And Caleb said, ‘He who attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife’ (Joshua 15:16). I mentioned Kirjath Sepher just now. Hebron was known as Kirjath Arba.
Now this Kirjath Sepheris a very interesting place. Kiriath is city, Sepher is book; literally is Sepher. A man who writes is called sefer, and sepher is book… city of the book, city of the book, people. Whoever conquers the city of the book, I’ll give him my most prized possession, my daughter, right. This is what Caleb said literally. Literally, he is saying, he who attacks Kirjath Sepher, and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife. Achsah means anklet, like a like a bangle there. It has the idea of your ankle or possession. Even his daughter is always possessing. What is hers… it must be a prize catch, or else it won’t mean anything; it’s redundant.
Joshua 15:17: So Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it, and he gave Achsah his daughter as wife. Othniel means lion of God, Lion of God; he took the city of the book, he conquered it, and he became his son-in-law. Listen, it is a picture of Jesus Christ. And I wept much because no one was found worthy to open the book, in the book of Revelation, John wept. And then an angel says, don’t weep… weep not, for behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah — Jesus — has prevailed to open the seals of the book.
I love the way you see the old. Alright, the new in the old. Can you see that? I can see the chapter five of the book of Revelation here. So Othniel became the son-in-law now. It’s not over yet, verse 18.
Joshua 15:18: Now it was so, when she came to him, she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. This girl, Caleb’s daughter is like her father: inherit, inherit, possess, possess. So now because she’s married, she didn’t come to the father directly. But later on… You know, you see she respectfully asked the husband to ask. ‘So she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, ‘What do you wish?’
Joshua 15:19: She answered, ‘Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water’. So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. She knew how to ask. She’s not satisfied with just land is there; squatters are there, I must drive them out. No, give me.
He gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. Let me just tell you about these two springs, then I will close.
In your Christian life, master this book, and you’ll get the power to possess, your Achsah. And then the book can become very dry. Ask God for the upper spring, the Holy Spirit, and the nether springs, the spring from below. Now this is the inner anointing. The inner anointing teaches you the Word of God. The upper spring is the Spirit upon, ask for both. Amen.
The Spirit upon comes and goes. The Spirit upon comes for you to function in something like right now, I can feel the Spirit on me as I’m preaching. Even when the miracles were happening, I feel the Spirit on me. I felt Wendy sometimes I just wish is like that all the time when I go home. When she asked me how come you are different when you are? Right?
I tried to explain to her, we got two springs. Now I didn’t talk about springs. I’m going to use the spring on from now on. Okay.
So there’s a nether spring, and there’s upper spring. So the Spirit within will never leave you. Okay, and anointing abides in you, and the anointing teaches you all things, and its truth, and it’s no lie. And if you follow the anointing, you will abide in Jesus. Amen.
But there’s also an upper spring, the Spirit on you to do exploits for Jesus, to function in the assignment that He has called you to.
LEARN THE APOSTLE JOHN’S SECRET TO FOLLOWING JESUS
How many want to have the best? Among the twelve… there were at least 70 disciples following Jesus, at least at one time, you’ll see 70. And from 70, you know, we see 12, who are closer to him.
Then among the 12, we see there’s three. They were witnesses to His Transfiguration, and raising of Lazarus’ daughter from the dead.
Then out of the three, you have one very close. In fact, he calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved, it appears only in his own gospel, he practiced that.
You know how the Gospel of John ends? All the four Gospels, because Jesus is the King of the Jews, he ends up by giving them: go into all the world and observe all My commandments, those are commandments of the New Covenant, loving one another and preaching the gospel and believing on His name. Right? Lo, I’m with you always, even to the end of the world. That’s how Matthew ends.
How does Mark end? The Lord working with them, still in heaven working, amen.
How does Luke end? Luke ends with Jesus: go all the way to Bethany, blessed His disciples, and went up to heaven. So there is ascension, right.
You know, how John ends? No ascension… resurrection, but no ascension. You still see Jesus on earth. Why is that so? Because He is God in the Gospel of John. He’s everywhere.
And you know how the Gospel of John ends? I love it. I love it. I love it. I must tell you this. Okay. Gospel John ends like this: This Jesus spoke signifying by what death Peter would glorify God. When He had spoken this, He said to Peter, ‘Follow me’.
Peter turned around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved — who is that? John – following, who also leaned on His breast at the supper and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays you?’
Peter, seeing John, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, what about this man?’
Jesus said to him, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me?’
Okay, let me just finish with this two, two again… comparison. All right, one disciple says, ‘I will go to the end of the earth for you, I will go to prison for you. I’m the one who loves you’, that’s Peter.
The other one says, ‘Lord, I want to thank you for your love for me. You will love me. I am the disciple whom you love’.
One, both of his love for Jesus; the other one, both of Jesus love for him.
Now we see that the disciples, both of His love, Peter was being told by the Lord, you follow me?
Go back into the earlier verse. Follow me, Jesus told him. But John don’t have to be told to follow. You know why. Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following already.
So the secret of Caleb in wholly following the Lord is actually just being absorbed by the Lord’s love for him. If the Lord gives me the land, is a very, very good land. If the Lord gives me this partner, is a very, very good partner. If the Lord gives me these children, yeah, very, very good children, because I love the Lord. I know the Lord gives in love. The Lord loves me. That’s why I love Him. That’s a secret.
And when you love the Lord, you are not even conscious you are following, but those who boast have their love for the Lord, they have to be told you follow me.
And sometimes, when I look at other preachers and what they are doing and things happening, I think, am I doing enough? Am I doing… you know, and I feel the Lord telling me, ‘Son, what is that to you? Whatever they are doing? What is that to you? You follow me’.
And those are the times when I lose that consciousness that the Lord loves me. I start comparing. But when I know the Lord loves me, I don’t worry about what people do. I’m not even conscious, I’m following Him. And that will be your legacy, and inheritance as well. And all the people said, Amen. God bless you.
CLOSING PRAYER
Every head bowed, every eye closed, all across this place. And for any of you here today, you have never met Jesus Christ, your personal Savior and Lord, the Bible says, ‘If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is your Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.’
So let’s pray that prayer right now. I know that you see the light, because the gospel has been preached. You see how Christ died for our sins, how he was tortured even before that, so that the price for our healing and wholeness is paid. But at the cross, He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
So please pray with me right now. And remember this: Jesus is at the Father’s right hand right now, hearing your prayer and He is your high praise, say Father in heaven. I confess Jesus Christ is my Lord. And I believe that you have raised Him from the dead. This same Jesus, who bore my sins at the across you raised from the dead without my sins, He has put them all away. I thank you, He’s now at your right hand, glorified, enthroned as He is, so am I, baptize and fill me with your Holy Spirit, in Jesus name. I’m safe. I’m forgiven. I’m highly favored, in Jesus name, in the Beloved. Amen. Stand to your feet.
Children of God. So the more we address each other as children of God, we are helping each other inherit, the more we have a Spirit of sonship the more we inherit, the more we call God, Father, the more we inherit, an inheritance the unconscious many times, amen. Lift your hands all across this place. I see family blessings. I’m going to pronounce this over you right now.
You love the Lord, because the Lord first loved you. You honor Him, you reverence Him, He is your God. Therefore happy shall you be and you shall eat the labor of your hands. Your wife shall be a fruitful vine in your house, fruitful vine, God renews her youth and attractiveness like the intoxicating vine. Your children, they are like olive plants, because they are anointed, anointed to break off the yolks of immortality and filth that this world is engulfed with. The anointing is on them and it’s on their minds to keep their minds. They are like olive plants, anointed to serve, anointed to make an impact in the kingdom of God. And I thank you, Lord, that you preserve every one of them here, under the sound of my voice, everyone that’s watching right now. Thank you Lord from preserving us from all evil, in Jesus name, for keeping us alive in your grace. Amen.
Resources for Further Reading:
If You Only Knew: Joel Osteen (Full Transcript)
Overcoming Guilt, Shame And Rejection: Derek Prince (Transcript)
Believing When You’re Not Seeing: Joel Osteen (Full Transcript)
When God Seems Too Late: Joel Osteen (Full Transcript)