You are saved, and God imputes righteousness to you, not based on your works but by believing in the Lord. By faith, we are justified, without works. A person who is down needs fear nor foe. But the higher up you put yourself – God put you high, no problem. If God put you up, God will hold you. But God don’t want you to put yourself up. If you put yourself up, and you fall, the higher you are, the greater the fall. So, you know what, before anything happens, go down, stay down, because he who is down fears no fall. And wait for God to raise you up.
See, at the end of the day, I need not even fear my critics. Those who say, well, I don’t believe what you preach of those that come against grace. Some people around me are more concerned than I am. I’m not going to be concerned because at the end of the day it’s whether the most high leave weight to your words. You can blog all you want, you can write all you want, but at the end of the day do your words stick? If God has weight to my mouth that when I spit lives are transformed, not just within the Church but millions around the world, if God gives me that weight why should I lend the critic my weight by addressing his problem? He needs my weight.
So, at the end of the day, you can stick all you want but God makes your words fall to the ground, why need we worry? Sometimes when we address our critics, it is us that gives them credibility. So, I don’t address. For me, I just focus on Jesus. Amen. If God doesn’t make my words stick, if God doesn’t give weightiness to my words, then what can I do? Amen. I need him. Joseph Prince never got to where he is today because of Joseph Prince. Joseph Prince in and of himself is a stutterer and a stammerer. Amen. Everything he has is the grace of God. And I am one who preaches the grace of God, and I believe it. Can I have a good Amen?
So, again, back to this again. Don’t clap; I’ll take my time. (Laughter). Listen, Genesis 14, you have this story. Alright, back to Genesis 14. Melchizedek king of Salem and he brought bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and he said: “Blessed be Abram” – you can put your name there, blessed be Mary, blessed be Josephine, blessed be John, blessed be whatever your name is, okay – “of God most high.” That’s El Elyon. Possessor of heaven and earth. What’s possessor of heaven and earth? Listen. All of the gold, all of the diamond, all of the silver, all of that God possesses. If God chooses to give it to you, it will come to you. You don’t have to go to a bookie. You don’t have to play numbers. If the most high God that rules over fairest of men.
And I’ll tell you this, the more humble you are, God loves to give blessings to people that are humble. God gives grace to those who are humble. In other words, the water always sinks to the lowest level. God’s grace always looks for the lowest. Jesus, who in the form of God, one with God, the second person of the God head, He who was the possessor of heaven and earth, He owns everything. The Bible says He came down and took upon Himself the form of a man. Being found as a man, He went down further as a servant, because there are men who are Kings. He’s a King that chooses to become a servant. Then, as a servant, He died a death. But there are many forms of death. He chose the worst form of death. He went even further down in death, in the death of a Cross to save all of us.
Because of these 7 steps down, God erased Him with every step. Then He went down and got him and God has exalted Him and given Him a name, a name which is above every name, the name of Jesus. The name of things in heaven, of angels, of things on earth, of men, of things under the earth, of demons. And every time confess, Jesus Christ is Lord.
For every step down that you take, God will have a step up for you. Don’t be proud. There’s nothing for mere men whose breath is inostrious to be proud. There’s nothing to be proud. Our thoughts are full of sin. And yet we’re saved. But based on my reasoning we stand in judgment of the Bible but we should allow ourselves to be judged by the Bible. And allow the light to shine in and thank God for the Bible. That word is a lamb at my feet and a light unto my path. Another good Amen.
Alright, so this is Genesis 14. It tells you clearly that the most high God is the God possessor of heaven and earth. Listen, no country, no emperor, no King, no President, no one on earth possesses heaven and earth. Many have tried. Napoleon tried. Hitler tried. At the end, there will be one that will come whose scepter is the scepter of righteousness. With righteousness will He judge and execute justice for the poor, the Bible says. His name is Jesus Christ and He will reign on earth whose right it is to rule. But his reign in not dictatorial. His reign will be with love. His reign will be supplying all of the needs. They saw samples of his reign when he was walking on the earth as King of Israel. They had 5 loaves and 2 fish. They multiplied into bucketfuls with lots left over after the men, the women and the children were full. Amen. He was lord over the waters, the sea and the storm. Everything obeys him. He passed by the 6 vessels of water and the waters blushed into wine. Amen.
Everything about the world recognizes the Master when He comes, except man. And the Bible says He came unto His own and they all did their own things that He created. They recognized Him. But He came unto His own people and they didn’t recognize Him. And the Bible says but as many as receive Him do have power to become sons of God. Amen, Church. It is humility to receive God by saying, I’m a sinner. I cannot save myself. That takes humility. And for that, you receive Jesus. Everything, when you receive him. Amen.
Okay, so, the secret is this. If you can find out. And blessed be God Most High. Again, El Elyon. So, He blessed Abraham of God Most High, and not blessed be God Most High himself, El Elyon, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And it gave him a tithe of all. It gave him a tithe of all.
So, notice in one passage where El Elyon got Most High appears for the first time. The Lord’s Supper communion, and tithing is mentioned. Wow. That’s why this is before the law. And there are some preachers of grace that say you don’t have the tithe, you know, you don’t have to. They don’t understand, it’s not part of the law; it is before the law. That’s why it’s not for everybody. It’s for those with revelation. If you don’t want to tithe, don’t. Amen. Abraham tithed because he had a revelation of how great Melchizedek was. Melchizedek brought what? Bread and wine. What does that do to you? It gives you health. Abraham responded with what? Tithes. What does that give to you? Wealth. Oh you are the health and wealth gospel – I don’t worry about talking about health and wealth gospel, I’m just telling you what the Bible says.
Because the Bible says later on in the same chapter, Abraham says, lest you say I make Abraham rich. So, Abraham knew he was going to be very rich. However, we’ll not talk about wealth, prosperity or whatever; I really think that prosperity has been overemphasized on Christian television. I really think that. And I don’t blame the world for thinking that anyone who preaches on abundance and all that is preaching a kind of prosperity. Honestly, what is prosperity is to know Jesus. Amen. And I don’t think we have to manipulate people; when people see how good Melchizedek is, they will tithe. Alright. If they don’t tithe, they can’t be sure how great Melchizedek is. We don’t have to threaten people to tithe. Can I have a good amen? If I have to tell my wife to tithe to give me a kiss, something is wrong in this relationship. Man, she can’t help herself, y’all. She can’t help herself. I’m telling you, the moment I walk in the room. She’s trembling. (Laughter). Okay, not trembling, forget that. Master, be humble, be humble. Okay, okay. Praise the Lord.
Okay, here you go. The first time God of Most High is mentioned, we have the Lord’s Supper and tithing. Heal that there to heal this in here. Okay, the first time that El Elyon is mentioned. Okay, watch this. Genesis 14, El Elyon. Genesis 17, the first time Almight El Shaddai appears. Two chapters in-between. And God said that if you can find out what these two chapters mean you have found he who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, El Shaddai and the shadow of the Almighty.
Should I end here? You asked for it, okay. Let’s go on. We’ll close with this. Genesis 15. Okay, let me show you Genesis 17 first. El Shaddai. Let’s go 3 chapters forward. You have Genesis 17:1. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God (El Shaddai); walk before Me and be blameless.”
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Joseph Prince: Jesus Christ, the seed of David, the son of God, will come and be a sacrifice for our sins. Are you all with me?
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You can enjoy provision, protection and unshakable peace today when you receive the gift of righteousness that Jesus has made forever yours. As a thank you for your gift of any amount, receive Joseph’s latest 3-CD audio series Forever Yours and the bonus Reign in Life 2015 Wall Calendar. Find out how you can enjoy every blessing in Christ. For a specific gift, we’ll send you the Forever Yours special gift collection that includes the brand-new Right Believing Capsule with 55 powerful messages that will change what you believe and change your life. This collection also contains Joseph’s latest The Power to Reign CD, DVD and journal set, and other exciting resources that will bless you. For more information on how to order these resources, call us toll-free at 1-877-901-4300 or visit us at JOSEPHPRINCE.ORG today.
Joseph Prince: You see Abraham, at this time it was still Abram, in fact there’s a chapter where his name is changed, he’s like most believers. Most believers believe that God is mighty but they’re still helping God here and there. Now God says, I am not just mighty, I am Almighty. All means no room for you. No room for your effort. I am Almighty God, El Shaddai. Shaddai means all supplying, all providing, Almighty. Are you with me?
For the first time, El Shaddai appears in the Bible. So, the first time El Elyon appears is Genesis 14, the first time El Shaddai appears is Genesis 17. Are these 2 are mentioned in sequence, the same sequence in Psalm 91? He who dwelled is He who placed the Most High. Should abide under the shadow of the Almighty. So, let’s find the 2 chapters in-between. Which, are you ready? Because what did God tell me? God told me this. You can find in one of two chapters you will find the secret place of Most High.
So, Genesis 15. Right after the Melchizedek experience, God brought Abram outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And God said to Abram, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and God accounted it to him for righteousness. This verse is ported in Romans, it is ported in Galatians, as the basis for the Gospel of Grace. That you are saved. God imputes righteousness to you, not based on your works but by believing in the Lord. By faith, we are justified. Without works. The revelation you must have – let’s see how our Church fares, yes? And this.
The first chapter, right after Most High, is the revelation for the first time, God gave the revelation of how to be righteous by faith. Not by your works, not by your efforts; by faith. And Abraham looked up. The words look now towards heaven and see if you’re able to count the stars. The word count is like you say in English recount. The same word is used in Psalm where the heavens safar the glory of God. The heavens declare. Here God says, see if you are able to safar, in Hebrew; they tell the story.
Do you know, it is general consensus, there are 12 constellations. Okay. We don’t believe in horoscope. Horoscope gives you horror-scope or scope of horror. (Laughter). Okay, people ask you what star you’re born under, you say the bright and morning one. His name is Jesus. Alright. The stars don’t rule us. Look beyond the stars to look at the one who makes the stars. He will rule your life.
Now, what was then? There was no Bible back then. We’re on Adam’s time. We all think of their brains as not as developed as modern time men. Actually, their brains are more developed; they have more creation and innovation than modern man. We are so fallen, we’re trying to backtrack ourselves. Abraham, Adam, can name all of the animals of the all of the species, higher and lower species, every small insect, every flower, and then when they come back again to number one, two days ago in number and name, he can tell you the name. We all go, I know you’re my best friend, I married you in 1995, my wife! (Laughter). You know, we forget, even when we are young.
But the memory of Adam was so amazing that before the fall he could go back to the first insect that he named, out of the millions of insects in the world, after you name all of the higher creations of animals, and he can name all of the varieties of animals, name all of the flowers in the world, and come back and still name it exactly. What kind of brain is that? An unfallen brain. God let him use 100% of his brain. Scientists tell us now we use only 1/10th. The other 9/10th is the gifts of the spirit. The years of the spirit. It’s restored for the Church. You get your brain back, folks. Turn to your neighbor and say, you get your brain back. (Laughter). Alright. At least 1/10th of it.
What was I talking about? Brain and all that. (Laughter). I was talking about something very good. So, here we have God telling him to – I remember the stars. Tell the story of the stars; I have to remember first. Okay. And God says, the 12th constellation it starts with Virgo and ends with Leo. Alright. Virgo is the virgin with the baby. Matthew opens up with the baby and the virgin. New Testament ends with the lion of the tribe of Judah. Leo. The whole 12th constellation points to a gospel story long before the scriptures were put together. So all, from Adam, Noah, all of them knew the Bible story the champion was coming. The conqueror of the dragon. One of the constellations. Amen.
The woman seed is going to come. So when God told Abram, see you can tell a gospel story, Abram says, yes I can see. God says, that’s your seed. Jesus told Abram to believe the same gospel that you and I believe. That Jesus Christ, the seed of David, the son of God, will come and be a sacrifice for our sins. Are you all with me? The Bible is here. You don’t need to go to the stars any more. Am I right? You can talk about the stars to your girlfriend but just to charm her, that’s all. Amen. But no more like that. You know, that sun, that star over there, yes, it’s telling you that you’ll marry me. Right. (Laughter). Deception.
Genesis, what? 15. So, Genesis 15, right after Genesis 14. El Elyon. We are coming to the part of the law telling me you can find what are these 2 chapters that extend with the 2 names of God which are exactly in sequence the way it is revealed in Psalm 91? You’ll find the secret place of the Most High. So, now we’ve found one place. Everyone who has found the secret place must by justified by faith. They must believe the gospel. You see, God doesn’t presumptuously promise to protect unbelievers. Now, people are like that. They don’t believe in God, they use God’s name in vain, they rebel against God, when things go wrong they say, where’s God?
So, the promise of God is very clear. It’s for those justified by faith. Now we come to chapter 16. Before El Shaddai, chapter 17. Chapter 16. What is it all about? The first verse tells us: Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. Now, I don’t have time to go into detail but just to let you know if you look at Galatians, Sarai, Abram’s wife, is a picture of grace. Hagar, the maid girl, the hand maiden, the maidservant, Hagar from Egypt, she’s a picture of the law. Now, Pastor Prince, they say this, Paul said this, in the Galatians.
So, why is this chapter all about Hagar and Sarai? God is saying, after you are justified by faith, you better know the law is not going to help you produce fruits. Your wife grace will. And you better put law under grace. Not grace under law. Ah, you missed it. That’s the trust of the Prince’s Ministry. Amen. And people are still arguing. They’re letting a lone bean that has the Most High instead of enjoying the blessings of God. They’re arguing about – they believe in justification by faith, chapter 15, but chapter 16 is where they stumble. Amen. How in the world can you be sandwiched by the Most High and the shadow of the Almighty, when you cannot even agree on the belief of Sarai? These people want the law to be a mix of law and grace. They are saying that Sarai and grace alone cannot raise your boy. You need to have Hagar come and help Sarai. You need the law to come and help Sarai. The moment the law tried to come and exalt itself, God says, no way. You come; you submit to your mistress Sarai. The law must submit to grace.
Audience: Amen.
Joseph Prince: Are you listening, people? Finally, law didn’t. And God told Abram, cast her out because she’s trying to overtake the family, she’s trying to position her son to take over the entire inheritance. Serious business. And the Church is still struggling with holding Sarai at home. That’s basically saying the Church cannot be holy, the hands of Isaac cannot be holy, until Sarai is there in the house. They don’t believe grace alone is enough. They say, I cannot trust grace. I cannot trust Sarai. You know, Sarai is like do whatever you want, you’ve seen this all, okay. They always like to say that on grace people. And it’s pathetic, you know. That same old argument sounds so hollow today because Abram is not married to Hagar. He’s married to Sarai. Abram is faith. Sara is grace. God puts faith and grace together. God never put faith and law together. They are antithesis. Are you with me?
So, now we found the secret. If you want to be in the secret place of the most high, the next chapter says you must be justified by faith, you must be delivered from the law. What does that mean? Don’t trust your efforts. Rest in Christ. And, guess what? The next chapter, chapter 17:1, when Abram was ninety-nine years old – now, guys, when you are ninety-nine, when six becomes nine, everything is topsy turvy. Your body is not what the body used to be. You want to go there; you think you are there but you’re still here. (Laughter). You know what I’m saying? Your body won’t be able to do anything. Now, God waited until Abram was ninety-nine. There is nothing without significance in the Bible. Nothing. Everything has a significance. So, why did God wait until ninety-nine years old? Until Abram had no more power, no more ability to have a baby. Then God steps in and says, I am Almighty God.
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Joseph Prince: I was saved of the Lord that loves me. He gave Himself for me. Lord Jesus, you are my refuge. Amen.
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Joseph Prince: Under grace, God says, I will be merciful to your unrighteousness and your sins I will remember no more. There’s been a change, there’s been a change, Church. And it’s all because of Jesus.
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