Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Scourged For Your Wholeness By Joseph Prince

Scourged For Your Wholeness
By Joseph Prince

Isaiah 53:5
5 … and by His stripes we are healed.

Under Roman law in Bible times, a criminal was either scourged for a lesser crime and then set free, or crucified straightaway if guilty of a greater crime. But Jesus was both scourged and crucified. Pontius Pilate had hoped that after scourging Jesus and presenting His bloodied body to the people, they would be satisfied and willing to let Him go. But the people were not and demanded His crucifixion instead.

Don’t think for a moment that the people had power to inflict such suffering on Jesus. It was all part of God’s plan and the scourging was necessary for only by His stripes are we healed.

The Roman whip used for scourging was made of leather straps embedded with glass, bone and metal hooks. With just one strike, the instrument would have been wrapped around Jesus’ body, causing the glass, bones and hooks to cut deep into His flesh. And as the whip was pulled back, the hooks would have stripped His flesh off, exposing muscle and bone. Indeed, the psalmist says, “They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me,” (Psalm 22:16–17) and “The plowers plowed on My back; they made their furrows long”. (Psalm 129:3)

Although 39 was the maximum number of times one could be whipped according to Jewish law, I believe that Jesus was whipped more times than that because the Romans, who were not likely to regard Jewish law, carried out the scourging.

Whichever the case, His back would have been reduced to a mass of bloody, mutilated flesh. That day, Jesus’ blood flowed freely from His body for your deliverance from every kind of disease and physical affliction. God allowed every one of those stripes to fall on His Son’s body so that your body need not be scourged with diseases.

My friend, if you are sick or suffering from some physical condition, know that Jesus took the scourging as full payment for you to be free of that condition. He bore those stripes so that, today, there is no sickness, no disease left for you to bear. By His stripes you have been healed!




© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2012 New Creation Church


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, May 14, 2012

Believe First And You Will See by Joseph Prince

Believe First And You Will See by Joseph Prince

Matthew 8:13
13 … as you have believed, so let it be done for you…

You may have heard some people say, “How can I believe it when I don’t see it? If I can only see it or feel it, I may just believe that something is happening!”

The woman with the issue of blood who came to Jesus could have felt the same way. For 12 long years, she had gone from one doctor to another, trying every conceivable cure they could offer. She not only grew worse, but ended up losing all her money to those doctors and their “cures”.

Then, something happened to her when “she heard about Jesus”. (Mark 5:27) She started believing that He could and would heal her to the extent that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” (Mark 5:28) Acting on her belief, she made her way to Jesus and touched His garment. Immediately, her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was healed of that affliction. Jesus, her true physician, also pronounced her healed.

Beloved, God wants you to know that when you believe Him, you will see your miracle. What you believe Him for, you will receive.

When a church member lost her wallet at a swimming pool, she prayed together with her husband, declaring their belief that God would restore the loss. One day later, not at the swimming pool but at her feet in the car, she found her wallet! She simply believed that God would restore her loss and she saw the restoration.

In another case, a lady who had skin cancer wore long sleeves all the time to conceal her condition from others. During one of our church camps, she went forward for prayer, believing God for her healing. After one of our pastors, Pastor Henry, prayed for her, she went back to her room, rolled up her sleeves and saw that all the cancerous scarring on her arms had disappeared! Her doctor later confirmed that she had been cured of skin cancer. She believed God for healing and saw it.

The world says, “Unless I can see it or feel it, I will not believe it.” But God says, “If you will believe it, you will feel it. Indeed, if you will believe it, you will see it!”




© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2012 New Creation Church


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Believe First And You Will See by Joseph Prince

Believe First And You Will See by Joseph Prince

Matthew 8:13
13 … as you have believed, so let it be done for you…

You may have heard some people say, “How can I believe it when I don’t see it? If I can only see it or feel it, I may just believe that something is happening!”

The woman with the issue of blood who came to Jesus could have felt the same way. For 12 long years, she had gone from one doctor to another, trying every conceivable cure they could offer. She not only grew worse, but ended up losing all her money to those doctors and their “cures”.

Then, something happened to her when “she heard about Jesus”. (Mark 5:27) She started believing that He could and would heal her to the extent that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” (Mark 5:28) Acting on her belief, she made her way to Jesus and touched His garment. Immediately, her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was healed of that affliction. Jesus, her true physician, also pronounced her healed.

Beloved, God wants you to know that when you believe Him, you will see your miracle. What you believe Him for, you will receive.

When a church member lost her wallet at a swimming pool, she prayed together with her husband, declaring their belief that God would restore the loss. One day later, not at the swimming pool but at her feet in the car, she found her wallet! She simply believed that God would restore her loss and she saw the restoration.

In another case, a lady who had skin cancer wore long sleeves all the time to conceal her condition from others. During one of our church camps, she went forward for prayer, believing God for her healing. After one of our pastors, Pastor Henry, prayed for her, she went back to her room, rolled up her sleeves and saw that all the cancerous scarring on her arms had disappeared! Her doctor later confirmed that she had been cured of skin cancer. She believed God for healing and saw it.

The world says, “Unless I can see it or feel it, I will not believe it.” But God says, “If you will believe it, you will feel it. Indeed, if you will believe it, you will see it!”




© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2012 New Creation Church


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Consider The Lilies Of The Field by Joseph Prince

Consider The Lilies Of The Field
by Joseph Prince

Matthew 6:28–29
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

You may think that you must work very hard to provide for yourself and get ahead in life. But God wants you to consider the lilies of the field — they do nothing. They toil not, spin not and struggle not. Yet, they grow and are clothed by God while simply resting and basking in the sunshine of God’s love! And when God clothes them, they look even more glorious than King Solomon, the richest king who ever lived.

Like the lilies of the field, God wants you to let Him take care of providing for your material needs, instead of you striving to do it yourself. When you let go and let Him, you will see Him bless you supernaturally, abundantly and generously!

This is what happened to one of our church members who had been looking for a job. Initially, he received only two calls for interviews after sending out 12 résumés. Refusing to be discouraged, he believed that God wanted to bless him not just with a job, but with a position of influence too.

God was faithful. This church member soon became the business manager of an engineering company even though he had no engineering background. He was offered a very attractive remuneration package and within his first week on the job, was asked to quote on two projects. He knew that this was God’s doing because it was difficult enough just to secure an appointment with contract managers to discuss projects, let alone be asked to quote on not one but two projects. Before long, he was offered the position to run the entire Singapore subsidiary with only one other business development manager. He was then only 25 years old!

My friend, God can do for you what He did for this person. Just believe that if God clothes the lilies and grass of the field, which are here today and gone tomorrow, how much more will He clothe you, His eternal and precious child, with beauty and riches! All He asks is that you cease from your striving, allow Him to take over and just flow with Him!




© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2012 New Creation Church


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

God Is Well Pleased With You, His Beloved by Joseph Prince

God Is Well Pleased With You, His Beloved by Joseph Prince

Ephesians 1:6
6 … He [God] made us accepted in the Beloved.

Studies have shown that in the heart of every child is a cry for his father’s approval. Something happens when a father says to his boy, “Daddy is so proud of you.” Or when a father says to his girl, “You will always be Daddy’s favorite girl.”

You can catch such a similar special moment in the Bible when God the Father displayed His approval of His Son — “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) The Bible shows us that Jesus’ ministry began with the approval of the Father, even before He had performed any miracle.

Now, you may think that God would naturally say that of Jesus, but not of us. My friend, the truth is that Jesus came for us and as us. He died for us and as us. He received the approval of the Father for us and as us. He came as our representative. And if that is not enough, God tells us in His Word that we are “accepted in the Beloved”!

Why did God specifically say “accepted in the Beloved” and not simply “accepted in Christ”? I believe that it is because He is calling to our remembrance what had happened at the Jordan river where He said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God wants us to know that we are His beloved and that He is well pleased with us.

God sees us as His beloved because He has made us accepted in the Beloved. He wants us to wake up every day knowing that we are His beloved, unconditionally loved and wholly approved.

The more we know how much we are loved and treasured by God, the more we can expect good things to happen in our lives. We can expect to be healthy and whole. When we realize that we are the objects of God’s love, instead of becoming easily frightened or threatened by anything or anyone, we become confident that we will win every fight of life.

That, my friend, is how your heavenly Father wants you to live. So live life today confident that you are God’s beloved!




© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2012 New Creation Church

Y


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Continue In God’s Grace by Joseph Prince

Continue In God’s Grace by Joseph Prince

2 Corinthians 3:6
6 … for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

To the Jews, the feast of Pentecost is a celebration of the giving of God’s law. It takes place 50 days after the Passover feast. When God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, it was 50 days after they had celebrated their first Passover and come out of slavery in Egypt.

But what happened after God gave them the law on the first Pentecost? Three thousand people died! (Exodus 32:28) Contrast this with another Pentecost in the New Testament. In the book of Acts, it says that when Pentecost had fully come, God gave not the law but the Holy Spirit, and what happened? Three thousand people got saved (Acts 2:41), which goes to show that “the letter [the law] kills, but the Spirit gives life”!

The law, which was “written and engraved on stones”, ministered death. It killed 3,000 people. That is why the apostle Paul calls it “the ministry of death” and “the ministry of condemnation”. (2 Corinthians 3:7–9) On the other hand, the Spirit ministered life — 3,000 people got saved.

My friend, when you come under the law by trying to keep God’s commandments in order to be blessed, it will lead to death. There will be deadness in your marriage, ministry, health, career… in your life. But when you depend on the Spirit of grace, it will lead to life. You will see breakthroughs and miracles (Galatians 3:5), and manifest the fruit of the Spirit.

So if you want to be blessed, make sure that you are on the right mountain. You see, the law was given on Mount Sinai, but the Spirit on Mount Zion. That is why the Bible says that “you have not come to the mountain [Sinai] that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest… But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels”. (Hebrews 12:18, 22) The Lord blesses you out of Zion (Psalm 128:5), and not Sinai!

Beloved, by grace you have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) Now, continue in the Spirit of grace. Remain on the right mountain and He will continue to supply miracles in your life!




© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2012 New Creation Church


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Mind Of Christ Doesn’t Grow Old by Joseph Prince

The Mind Of Christ Doesn’t Grow Old by Joseph Prince

1 Corinthians 2:16
16 ... we have the mind of Christ.

“Oh dear, my memory is not as good as it used to be. I must be getting old.” Have you heard that before? Maybe you have even said it yourself a couple of times! But who says that as you grow older, you are supposed to forget things?

When the late Reverend Kenneth E Hagin was in his eighties, he was still healthy and strong. This amazing man of God would run around the platform as he preached. And those who have heard him preach would tell you that he had an amazing memory with which he could recall specific details such as the day of the week that a specific date fell on and even the time. Even at that age, the man’s memory was superb!

He once shared how he had started to forget things when he was in his fifties. He had read a medical journal which said that every day millions of cells in our brains die. He didn’t realize it, but those words got into his spirit and he started to forget things.

So he asked the Lord, “What is happening to me?” And the Lord said, “You read that article and you believed it.” He repented and asked the Lord what he should do. The Lord said, “Confess My Word. My Word says that you have the mind of Christ, and the mind of Christ never forgets.” He started to confess that he had the mind of Christ and that was how his memory remained sharp for the rest of his life.

My friend, the Word of God says that you have the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is not old, slow or forgetful! I don’t care how old you get. You don’t have to become forgetful. Don’t believe and confess what medical science or your friends say. Believe and confess the Word of God which brings life.

The power of life and death is in your tongue. (Proverbs 18:21) So use your tongue for life. Don’t sit around saying, “I am getting old and forgetful.” Say, “I have the mind of Christ. My mind is sharp and quick because it is the mind of Christ!” Believe it, confess it, and see your thinking and memory live up to it!




© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced,
distributed and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying
or otherwise) without express written consent of the copyright holder.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2012 New Creation Church


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Vitamin For The Soul

Google
 

My Life With Jesus... Headline Animator