‘No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in any offering to the Lord made by fire.

Leviticus 2:11

When I was a young Christian, I heard of an illustration for Psalm 23 about shepherds who sometimes break the legs of sheep which habitually stray, so as to teach them not to stray. That erroneous teaching — “The Lord is my Shepherd, He breaketh my legs” — stuck with me for years, causing me needless fear of God’s punishment when I felt that I had strayed from Him.

Such erroneous teachings are what God’s Word refers to as “leaven”. That is why Jesus cautioned His disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6) The leaven of the Pharisees was their doctrine of legalism, which judges and condemns people who fail to keep God’s laws. The leaven of the Sadducees was their doctrine of humanism, which discounts the supernatural and teaches that everything can be explained away using reasoning or science.

When God told His people in Leviticus 2:11, “No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven,” we are reminded that how we appreciate Jesus, our grain offering, must not be mixed with wrong teachings. For example, when we talk about “suffering with Christ” (Romans 8:17), we must know that it is not about suffering sicknesses or lack, things which Jesus has redeemed us from, but suffering persecution, scorn and rejection for His name’s sake, which we are likely to face as good Christians.

My friend, what you believe about Jesus is important because the Holy Spirit bears witness only to the truth. (John 16:13) So ask Him to unveil the beauty of Christ and the perfection of His finished work to you when you read God’s Word. Find out from the Word how Christ has redeemed you from every curse and paid for you to enjoy all of God’s blessings with His sacrifice at the cross.

Beloved, get rid of any leaven in your believing. Believe and declare that you are healed, not sick; abundantly supplied, not in lack; and forever righteous in Christ. And when you start believing and confessing God’s truths, the anointing of the Holy Spirit will be released for the breakthrough you need!

Thought For The Day
What you believe about Jesus is important because the Holy Spirit bears witness only to the truth.

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The Holy Spirit Convicts Us Of Righteousness

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For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

1 Corinthians 14:14

God has given us a powerful prayer gift — praying in tongues, which is not limited by distance, time or head knowledge. When you pray in tongues, you could be praying for your future or even a loved one overseas. You won’t know what you are praying unless God tells you. This is because your “understanding is unfruitful” — your mind is not involved.

“But Pastor Prince, I must know what I am praying!”

Sometimes, it is better not to know what you are praying. In 1993, I had a long season of praying in the Spirit. If I had known then everything that I was praying in tongues, I would have freaked out! For example, I would have been afraid if I had known that the Holy Spirit was saying, “Father God, in the year 2002, anoint Joseph Prince to preach six messages every week to more than 10,000 people.” That has come to pass. But back in 1993, one service was enough to tire me out!

So I thank God that I don’t know what I am praying when I pray in tongues. I simply trust His goodness and pray in tongues for everything that He has planned for me to come to pass in His perfect timing.

Beloved, don’t stop praying in tongues just because you don’t know what you are praying. You could be praying for the safety of a loved one in a life and death situation. Especially when you feel an urge to pray because you sense danger, pray! Pray until you sense a release as the burden is lifted. The Holy Spirit will know exactly what is going on, who is in danger and how to pray for deliverance. (Romans 8:27)

You may say, “Well, I can just pray in English.” You can, but your prayer will be very limited because you don’t know everything. It is better to pray in tongues because the Spirit knows all things.

My friend, you don’t belong to the natural, limited realm. You belong to God who is unlimited! So pray in tongues, and see great things happening for you and through you.

Thought For The Day
It is to our advantage to pray in tongues because the Spirit knows all things.

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Moving By Grace In The Holy Spirit’s Gifts – Part 2

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For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;

Luke 5:9

As a young Christian, I grew up hearing preachers say that God only supplies our needs, not our wants. Yet, in the Bible, God clearly shows us that He wants to meet not just our needs, but also our wants.

For example, the famous “shepherd psalm” begins with “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”. (Psalm 23:1) Another psalm says, “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:9–10)

One of the names of our God is Jehovah Jireh, which means “the all-providing One”. He provides more than enough. The God of more-than-enough came in the flesh and walked among His people. And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He did not give His disciples small blessings. That is why He said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets [plural] for a catch,” (Luke 5:4) and not “let down your net [singular]”. And what a catch it turned out to be — a boat-sinking, net-breaking catch! It was such a big and unexpected blessing that Peter and all who were with him were “astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken”.

Beloved, see God’s heart for you today. He wants to prosper you greatly. Don’t settle for anything less, thinking that He only supplies your needs and not your wants. If you need a job, know that He wants you to pray not just for a job, but for a position. When you have a position, you have influence and you are able to impact lives. Maybe what you need is a pay increment. Then, pray not just for that, but also to be in a position to give increments!

You may start out poor when you follow God. But you cannot remain in lack when you follow the God of more-than-enough. In fact, like Peter, you too will be astonished that God supplies more than what you need and beyond what you have asked!

Thought For The Day
The God of more-than-enough wants to meet not just your needs, but also your wants.

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Jesus Is Really That Good!

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But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

The verse tells us that we have “this treasure” in earthen vessels. Who is the treasure? Christ! Who are the earthen vessels here? You and I! Thank God the treasure is in the earthen vessels.

My friend, Christ the treasure is in you. So don’t get frustrated when you see your “earthiness”. You will always be “earthen” as long as you are in your mortal body, but remember that Christ the treasure is in you.

Should you lose your cool with your spouse or children, remember that Christ in you is your patience. When I feel impatient, I don’t pray, “Lord Jesus, give me patience… now!” No, I look to Jesus and I say, “Lord Jesus, I thank You that You are my patience.”

In my younger days and even when I first got married, I had a bad temper. I tried all sorts of anger management techniques, but I never got very far until I told God, “God, I am so frustrated trying to overcome my anger. I give up! I cannot. You can. I rest and depend on You.” Not too long after that, my wife commented, “You know, you have improved in the area of your temper.”

I thought about what she had said and realized that I was not even conscious of the change in me. When family members can see the patience of Christ manifesting through a naturally impatient person, God gets the glory.

Perhaps you are frustrated with your smoking and drinking habits. Or maybe you are discouraged by your feelings of jealousy, distrust, bitterness, depression and defeat. Don’t condemn yourself for being earthen. Don’t try to “cast out” your earthiness. Just realize that you have Christ the treasure in you.

The more you see that treasure in you, the more Christ’s brilliance shines forth in you. And in the midst of your earthiness, God gets the glory as you yourself are transformed from glory to glory! (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Thought For The Day
The more you see Christ the treasure in you, the more Christ’s brilliance shines forth in you.

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Jesus—The End Of Your Struggles

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Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:17

In the Old Testament, the Israelites’ standing as a nation before God was wrapped up in the standing of their high priest. What the high priest was before God, so was the entire nation before God.

If the high priest sinned, he brought guilt on his nation, and God would reject the entire nation no matter how law-abiding the people were or how faithful they were in bringing their sacrifices.

Conversely, if their high priest was without fault and acceptable to God, God would accept the whole nation even if the people were sinful.

Unfortunately, the high priests of Israel often failed because like any human being, they were imperfect.

Thank God that today, you and I have Jesus as our High Priest, who is 100 per cent Man and 100 per cent God. As our High Priest, His standing before God is always right. Jesus is always acceptable and pleasing to the Father. Therefore, we can never lose our acceptance with God because as our High Priest, Jesus only brings righteousness on His people.

In heaven right now, Jesus our High Priest is seated at the right hand of God the Father. (Romans 8:34) This means that God does not look at you. He looks at Jesus. If Jesus is good, you are good. If Jesus is accepted, you are accepted. If God sees Jesus perfect, then He sees you perfect. If Jesus is righteous, then you are righteous. And we know that Jesus our High Priest is good, accepted, perfect and righteous, which means that that is how God sees us!

My friend, you cannot lose your right standing because Jesus Christ is your High Priest. To lose your standing, Jesus has to lose His standing first. But we know that we have in Jesus a High Priest who is perfect and who cannot fail. So you need never be afraid or conscious of your faults when you come before God. Because your standing is completely wrapped up in Jesus your High Priest, you can come to God boldly and receive all that you need from Him!

Thought For The Day
God sees us the way He sees Jesus our High Priest — good, accepted, perfect and righteous.

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Accepted In The Beloved, Empowered To Succeed

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… God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,

Galatians 1:15

Beloved, you are not an accident with no destiny. God has called you from your mother’s womb. You have a special calling and a destiny in Christ, and it is all by His grace!

There are Christians who are called by God to be doctors. But I believe that among them are those separated from their mothers’ wombs for the healing ministry. They are passionate about seeking cures to alleviate the sufferings of humanity.

Likewise, I think that there are Christians who are called by God to be teachers in secular schools. But among them are those separated from their mothers’ wombs to be Bible teachers. What gives them tremendous fulfillment is seeing lives saved and transformed under their teaching.

What about those famous magicians you see performing tricks on television? They have a love for the mystical and supernatural. If they were to become Christians, they might just become prophets with ministries marked by the miraculous!

The apostle Paul knew that he was called from his mother’s womb. He had a misguided passion for God though, as he was persecuting the church, until he had his encounter with Jesus. (Acts 8:3, 9:1–6)

If Paul, a terrorist to the early church, could be touched by Christ to become an apostle of grace, what about today’s terrorists who blow up people in the name of their god? For all you know, if they receive Christ, they might just become trailblazers in the kingdom of God!

Now, don’t think that your calling has to do with your qualifications, abilities, achievements or even your walk with God. You were called from your mother’s womb by His grace. As a fetus in your mother’s womb, there was not much you could do — good or bad. That is why your calling is all by His grace. And since He has given you a calling, ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern the desires that He has placed in your heart, the passions that drive you in life, and fulfill your calling and destiny in Christ!

Thought For The Day
By the grace of God, you have a special calling and destiny in Christ!

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When You Touch Jesus, You Touch Your Destiny!

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The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

Deuteronomy 28:12

In the Bible, rain usually speaks of blessings. Even today, Israelis thank God when it rains because they know that when He gives them rain, their blessings will be plentiful. Their cattle will feed in large green pastures and eat cured, winnowed fodder. And when they see rivers and streams of water flowing from their mountains and hills (Isaiah 30:23–25), they know that times of refreshing have come.

Likewise, you can expect God to rain His blessings on you and bless the work of your hands. Then, you will come to a place where you will “lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow”. In fact, Jesus wants you to know that this is a blessing which He died to give you because when He died, He did not even have a tomb of His own. He was laid in a borrowed tomb, so that you can have the power to lend.

Indeed, our church bears testimony to this blessing. When I first joined the church full-time, it was very small — about 100-odd members. The Lord has, however, rained His blessings on us and blessed the work of our hands. Today, we have a congregation of more than 22,000 members and we are still growing. In fact, our church is lending its support to many ministries, both locally and overseas. We continue to see God pouring His blessings of prosperity and increase on us, and we thank Him for all the good things that are happening to us.

My friend, there is nothing you can do about the rain but to let it fall. So just expect God to rain His blessings on you! Let them fall! And you will be blessed with more than enough, so that with your needs and your family’s needs more than met, you can be a blessing to others too!

Thought For The Day
When God rains His blessings on you, you will be blessed with more than enough so that you can be a blessing to others.

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Why God Blesses And Then Blesses Again!

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Live life on a whole new level when you put Jesus at the center of it all! Joseph Prince unveils Christ in the lampstand of the Old Testament tabernacle and shows you why when you put Jesus in the center of your life, He lifts you up, holds your world together, supplies your needs and brings incomparable fulfillment. Watch Him dispel every darkness in your life as you keep looking to Him. Begin to experience the high life you were meant to live as you see His love for you and give Him center place in all that you do!

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²⁰… that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, ²¹whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things…

Acts 3:20–21

As a believer, you have a right to expect restoration of the things that the devil has stolen from you. It may be your health, marriage or finances, but payback time is definitely coming!

Acts 3:20–21 tells us that before Jesus comes back for His church, we will experience “the times of restoration of all things”. What a hope that gives us, knowing that God will restore to us all things before Jesus returns!

My friend, if the devil is attacking you in any area, tell God, “Father, I will not allow the devil to rob me of my health, marriage, children or finances. These blessings are blood-bought and paid for by Your Son!” Claim your restoration in Christ and heaven will hear you.

There will be such times of restoration of all things to the body of Christ that His people will only get better, stronger, healthier, and more prosperous and glorious! When God restores, even under the old covenant, His people always received much more than what they had originally lost, in terms of quality and/or quantity. How much more will our restoration be under the new covenant because of the shed blood of the Lamb of God!

A divorcee with a teenage son came to our church and accepted the Lord in May 2003. She began to pray for the restoration of her marriage and the reunion of her family. She knew that the chances of this happening were close to zero since she had not met nor spoken with her ex-husband since their divorce 10 years ago. She did not even know if he had remarried. But God caused their paths to cross at a wedding at the end of 2003. Today, their relationship is healed, and together with their son, they worship as a family in church.

Even though what happened for that sister may not happen for every divorced person (God can give you a better spouse and marriage), I believe that God wants you to know that your times of restoration are here. Heaven is waiting to hear you stake your claim for restoration!

Thought For The Day
You have a right to expect restoration of the things that the devil has stolen from you.

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Receive Your 120 Percent Restoration Today!

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Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Deuteronomy 28:6

In the Jewish community, the promise, “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out”, refers to being blessed in the affairs of one’s daily life, whether in or outside one’s home.

So here, God is saying that you are blessed in your everyday life. Do you believe it? Do you believe that every day, your family and work life are blessed? Or do you think that you are blessed only during Christmas when you receive your gifts and year-end bonus, or when you get that promotion you have been wanting? Perhaps you think that the blessed life only begins when you meet the man or woman of your dreams!

No, my friend, you are blessed every day and you have God’s Word for it. Psalm 68:19 says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!” And because God’s Word says so, believe that every day of your life is loaded with benefits. Every morning, when you get up, believe that it is a day that the Lord has made, and rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) Start the day expecting it to be loaded with the benefits that God has prepared just for you.

At night, when it is time to sleep, know that you will be blessed when you get up in the morning because there will be another load of benefits from your heavenly Father, who so loves you unconditionally, waiting for you!

You can’t make your blessings happen. But if you will just believe what God has said in His Word and act like it is so, the blessings will manifest in your life. In fact, God wants to bless you more than you want to be blessed! His Word declares it: “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out… Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!”

Beloved, believe God’s Word. Believe Him for the blessings and you will find yourself loaded with His daily benefits!

Thought For The Day
Start the day expecting it to be loaded with the benefits that God has prepared for you.

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Provision And Healing Wherever The Rivers Of Living Water Go

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