Joseph Prince

 

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16–17

 

After Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness, and the devil came to tempt Him saying, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matt. 4:3).

 

Many years ago, when I was studying this, the Lord opened my eyes and showed me that the devil had subtly left out the word “beloved.” Just moments ago, God the Father had just affirmed Jesus as His beloved Son at the Jordan River. However, when the devil came to tempt Jesus, he removed the word “beloved” and simply said, “If You are the Son of God . . .”

 

The Lord unveiled to me that if you are reminded that you are the beloved of the Father, you can never be successfully tempted! Even the devil knew this, and that’s why he removed the word “beloved” when he spoke to Jesus. Now that’s a powerful truth!

 

So, every time you are tempted, just remind yourself, “I am God’s beloved child, and my Father loves me.” No temptation can triumph over you when you rest securely in your father’s love.

 

Now observe Jesus’ reply. He didn’t have to prove to the devil that He was the Son of God. Secure in His identity as God’s beloved Son, He simply replied, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matt. 4:4). And what words had the father just said at the Jordan River? “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

 

I want to encourage you to personalize this and meditate on it every day! That’s how the Father sees you today. He sees you in Christ, and in Christ you are His precious, beloved child, in whom He is well pleased. Place your hand on your heart and hear your Father in heaven saying these words to you:

“You are My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.”

 

Would you believe that with all your heart today? If you are struggling to overcome a disorder or addiction, close your eyes and hear your Father saying to you, “You are My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.” Every time you are fearful, every time you are consumed by worry, anger, or depression, hear your Father saying to you, “You are My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.”

 

Yes, right in the midst of whatever failures you may be experiencing, you are His beloved child, and He is well pleased with you because you are in Christ. Keep hearing it and repeating it until you find rest, peace, and joy overflowing in your heart.

 

If you feel like just crying in His presence, cry. He knows what you are going through, and He understands—in a way that no one else can—the pain, hurt, suffering, and loss that you are experiencing. Let His perfect love cast out every fear and bring healing and wholeness to your heart.

Joseph Prince

 

“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

Acts 13:38–39

 

In Acts 14:8–10, where Paul heals a crippled man in Lystra, we see that Paul does not lay his hands on the man to heal him. The faith to be healed came from just listening to Paul preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and when he simply responded to the apostle’s command to stand up, he was healed.

 

While what Paul preached to the man was not recorded for us, we do have one of Paul’s sermons recorded word for word for us by the Holy Spirit in the preceding chapter (Acts 13:16–41). And the highlight or climax of that sermon is found in today’s scripture.

 

Now, listen carefully to this: the power of the gospel that Paul preached to the crippled man is found in the forgiveness of all your sins for “everyone who believes.” There is no other qualification for being forgiven of all your sins.

 

The old covenant was based on justification by works (obedience to the Ten Commandments). You had to perform to be forgiven. But the new covenant of grace is based entirely on justification by faith (believing in Jesus Christ). Can you see the radical difference?

 

The demand is no longer on you, but on Christ. This is the good news: all who believe in Jesus receive the forgiveness of all their sins and are justified from all things! Good news? Hallelujah! There is no better news than this!

 

We have experienced this time and again in our church services. As people are sitting in the service and hearing the gospel of grace and Jesus’ finished work being preached, healing miracles break forth!

 

This has happened not just in our church services, but also in other places. One of my dear friends, Marcel Gaasenbeek , shared with me a wonderful healing miracle that took place in his car as he was driving to Romania with a few friends. Marcel is a pastor of a dynamic grace church in Holland, and on this particular day, he was on his way to Romania for a preaching engagement. He was listening to one of my sermons in his car, something that he did often.

 

Lulled by the monotony of the long drive, one of Marcel’s friends dozed off in the backseat. This friend had been involved in a jet ski accident some years ago, and since then he often suffered sharp pains in his back. Somehow, through the fog of sleep, he heard me preach this: “Jesus has already healed you and the devil is the one giving you lying symptoms in your body.”

 

He said “Amen!” in his heart, agreeing that Jesus had already healed him by taking his sin and bearing his sicknesses and pains on the cross. At that moment, he felt the power of God go through him, and he was completely healed! All the pain in his back was gone!

 

That’s the power of hearing and hearing the gospel of Jesus. That’s how faith comes! The more of Jesus you hear, the more of His grace you receive. The more revelation you get of His finished work, the more you will receive an impartation of faith for any situation, even the seemingly impossible ones!

Joseph Prince

 

Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.

Mark 2:3

 

Sometimes it is difficult for us to have faith when we are on our own. When you have no strength and no faith, you need others to pull you through. I want to share with you a precious testimony from Audrey, a leader in my church who experienced that for herself.

 

In the twenty-ninth week of her pregnancy, her water broke and she was admitted to the hospital for bed rest. Friends prayed with her and her husband, encouraged them, and believed with them for the birth of a healthy baby. She and her husband partook of the holy Communion as frequently as they were able to.

 

In the thirtieth week, baby Jenna was born, weighing 1.5 kg (3.3 lb), thankfully with no major complications. She was able to breathe on her own and all her organs were functioning properly. She gradually progressed from a tiny baby supported by tubes and needles to tube feeding and finally to normal feeding.

 

Audrey’s daily commute to the hospital was exhausting, but she was thankful for kingdom friends who kept them in prayer. Many of them partook of the holy Communion on their own as they prayed for Jenna and her parents. After forty days in the hospital, Jenna was finally allowed to go home.

 

However, Jenna was soon back in the hospital ICU as her heart rate suddenly became critically low and later became too high. Audrey was devastated and by this time was “out of prayer and out of faith.” But church leaders and friends kept surrounding them in an environment of faith and prayer even when they kept meeting with setbacks.

 

During that period, Audrey shared that I preached a fresh message about the Communion in church, and after she heard it, she and her husband persevered and kept partaking of the Communion for baby Jenna until finally she was out of danger. It was an arduous journey, but Jenna went home strong and healthy. Hallelujah! Audrey shared:

 

As I think of how Jesus healed the paralytic based on the faith of the four friends who lowered him through the roof, I thank God we also had these “four friends.” Our friends continually prayed for Jenna and encouraged us to press in to claim God’s healing and to partake of the holy Communion.

 

If you have been dealing with a long, drawn-out medical condition or you are exhausted from caring for a loved one, depression can creep in as the burden gets too heavy for you. My friend, bring your cares to God, knowing He cares about you with deepest affection, and watches over you so very carefully (1 Pet. 5:7 AMP).

 

At the same time, I want you to know God never meant for you to function in a vacuum. His heart is for you to be planted in a local church and not forsake “the assembling of ourselves together” but to exhort and encourage one another (Heb. 10:25). The church is not perfect by any means. But we have a perfect Savior who has done a perfect work on the cross, and there is safety, healing, and provision in the house of God.

Joseph Prince

 

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:3–4

 

Some years ago, I went to Israel with my pastors and we were introduced to a Jewish believer who became our guide. He shared with us how he was miraculously protected from the heavy gunfire during the fourth Arab-Israeli war in 1973.

 

Our guide had grown up believing the written Word—“A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.” He believed that regardless of who fell around him, it would never happen to him. That was why as he stood exposed when the bullets tore past him, he did not fear even for a moment that any of the bullets would hit him.

 

In contrast, he told us about a friend in the army who had gone to the Israeli military academy together with him. During the Yom Kippur war, his friend told him this: “I’ve got a feeling that I won’t make it through this war. I just feel I’m going to die in this war.” Although our guide told him not to say such things, his friend continued. He believed he would die in the war as much as our guide believed that he would not. Sadly, this friend was indeed killed during the war.

 

The devil is known as “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev. 12:10). He will always try to keep you self-occupied and in fear. God wants you Christ-occupied and in faith! You might have a friend of the same age who perhaps died suddenly from an illness even though he or she had seemed healthier than you. The devil will try to plant fears in your heart that you are next. By now, you know what to do.

 

Take up your shield of faith and declare, “It is written—‘A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.’” Whatever “it” may be—cancer, disease, accidents, terrorist attacks—it shall not come near you! When you board a plane, that plane has no choice but to land safely because YOU are on board, Amen!

 

Beloved, the Lord Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross so that you can stand upon His promises and claim them for your life. They are all fully paid for by the blood of Jesus, and the Father will see to it that you enjoy them!

 

If you do not know what promises to claim, can I encourage you to start with the many promises listed in Psalm 91? Memorize Psalm 91 and when you are under attack, quote it the way our Lord Jesus quoted Scripture. Meditate on Psalm 91 and allow yourself to be fortified by this prayer of protection. There is such a power and authority that comes with quoting the pure and unadulterated written Word of God, and I invite you to start walking in that power and authority today!

Author: Jerry Savelle

 

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you (John 15:15 NKJV).

 

God doesn’t just want servants; He wants friends. He didn’t create mankind so that He could have someone to grovel at His feet with his face in the dirt. No! God wanted friends He could walk and talk with in the cool of the day (see Genesis 3:8).

 

Through Jesus’ sacrifice, the intimate relationship Adam first shared with God is now available to every believer.

 

Remaining conscious of your righteousness in Christ gives you boldness before God and makes your fellowship with the Father more intimate.

 

Righteousness gives you the confidence to come before God and talk to Him as your best friend. When you understand He looks at you as if you are as perfect as Jesus, you will never experience any sense of inferiority. That’s why the Bible says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV).

 

Only when you understand your righteousness in Christ, and remain mindful of it, can you walk intimately with God as His friend. So, come boldly to the Father today, secure in your righteousness in Christ, and talk to Him face-to-face, as your friend.

 

Confession: Nothing shall separate me from the love of my heavenly Father, which He has poured out on me through Jesus Christ. Because my righteousness is in Christ, I can go boldly to the throne of grace knowing I am a friend of God.

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