Pastor Joseph Prince (2nd service live)
Legacy camp highlights
The Father hugs you and says to you, "In My arms, you will always find security and love."
Parents, set boundaries for your children, say once and don't nag. Believe that your words carry weight.
Feelings come and go. We acknowledge we have them but we are not defined by how we feel.
E.g. "Because I feel a certain way, therefore I am a certain thing." That's wrong!
Let feelings be like a journey on a bus - enjoy the good ones and know that you'll pass through the bad ones.
Choose which feelings to indulge in and which to let pass. Don't fight the feeling, it will stay even longer.
Feelings follow our thoughts, that's why it's important to believe right.
E.g. "What they said hurt me". That's wrong. It's "what I know they said hurt me."
devil likes to use the personal pronoun "I" to disturb u. Don't accept it. If you accept that, you become that.
Me: Similar to overhearing a conversation of someone else saying "I am feeling hungry". But I'm not! That's not me.
We can ask the Lord to reveal to us what's coming out for our exams. That's the wisdom of prophecy.
Sermon proper
There are things that God has already done in our lives (the finished work), and things that He is still doing (unfinished work)
Unfinished work has is to do with the gospel (Acts) - things that Jesus began / to do and teach
1 Thess 5:8 also in Eph 6:17
Armor of God helmet = hope of salvation; only for people who are saved
Once saved, we can live life with hope
Hope = elpis = confident expectation of good, especially with respect to our future
I.e. we face life with confidence and boldness of good in our future
Faith = confident expectation of good now
E.g. By His stripes we are healed
Healing now is based on us being healed by His stripes 2000 years ago
We protect our head / thoughts (helmet) by having a confident expectation of good from God (hope)
What is the good from God that we have?
(1) We are righteous in Christ
Romans 5:1
Justified = aires tense = past tense
Justified = made righteous, just like we've never sinned
Justified = present passive participle = God is the one doing to me, and even right now, He is still doing it, continuously (and freely!)
How do we enjoy it then? By faith and by being thankful
How do we to reign in life? By receiving (continuously and actively) God's abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17)
So why are some of us not reigning now even though we received it during the salvation call?
Because receive = present active participle
I.e. We have to continuously see ourselves as righteous and actively ignore the devil's suggestions that we can't be righteous because of our thoughts/feelings/actions etc
Active = action involved = say out / declare
God continuously sees us as righteous regardless of what we do/think/feel or what others say etc
Me: declare everyday & consciously, "Lord, today I choose to receive Your abundant provision of grace and the gift of Your righteousness in Christ Jesus. Thank you for giving to me so freely."
God will move mountains for me because I have influence with God.
Believe that we can change the situation with prayer because God can change it and our prayers are powerful.
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(2) God is working in us
Phil 2:12-13
Work out your own salvation because it is God who first works in you
'Work out', not 'work for' your salvation
Salvation = healing, deliverance, prosperity, well-being, fruitful relationships
E.g. God works in you the love, and then you work it out
Recap from last week the phrase "with fear and trembling" = sense of being overwhelmed by the awesome goodness of God
God works in us 2 things = 1) the willingness, 2) the performance / action / to do
And then we do it (plus we do it willingly because He worked the willingness in us too), and then He rewards us for doing it! He rewards us for using the gift He first gave us
God who works = present active participle = He's always working in us
Since God is working, does that mean we don't have to pray?
No, we still pray. Recap 7 June sermon - Daniel still prayed even though God already promised.
So how? See that God is working in us and pray with it. This makes things so much easier.
E.g. pray for the desire to exercise / to be tidy / to get married / to have children
E.g. can also pray for God to put the desire in husband/children to attend church
Prayer = co-labourer / partner with God, even though He's the one doing it. Just a cooperation on our part.
This is the new covenant lifestyle of being led by God - having both the willingness as well as the performance. He makes it easy for us! Bcos it's easy to do something when it's also our desire.
God won't give you someone you don't desire. He will work in you the attraction for the other person and will similarly work the attraction in the other person too. God knows who you will like 5/10 years from now. He won't give you smth/someone you have no desire for.
He will also work in you the gift / performance.
God has given you a talent somewhere, ask Him where if you don't already know
God can drop talents on us and cause others to recognise it without us having to promote ourselves
Prophecy today is not directional but confirmation-al. Something you already know/desire in your heart, and someone else just confirming it. If you have no desire or even dislike what's being said, it's not a prophecy.
What if you have the willingness but no performance? Then pray that He will work in you the performance of His good pleasure as well.
How does God direct us?
Holy Spirit bears witness = bears witness to an action (Romans 8:16)
I.e. There is action involved. It's difficult to guide a parked car
E.g. start searching for a job and God will show you as you flip the papers / job ads. "oh this is or isn't the job". He will work in you the desire to apply for which jobs
E.g. attend places where there are people who are attachable
God leads more by red light than green light. Cos you're moving and always green, and if it's wrong then there will be red light.
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(3) God is powering all favour and blessings toward us
2 Cor 9:6-8
V8 always = in both good and bad times, you will have sufficient
V7,8 some people interpret this as if you give cheerfully, then God will make all grace abound. But that's incorrect because then you would deserve it, but grace is undeserved
V8 (NKJV) God is able to = seems to be future / potential. But that's incorrect.
Able = present active indicative = happening right now
Able = dynamos (root: dynamite) = powering all grace towards you
I.e. God is powering all grace toward you, and when u realise & believe tt, that makes u a cheerful giver
I.e. The very reason why we can be a cheerful giver is because God is powering all His grace toward us
It's the spirit, not the amount given.
V8 (AMP) All grace = every favour & earthly blessing; blessing with a purpose
V8 (JP interpretation) = "And God is enabling all grace (every favour and earthly blessing) towards you in abundance, that you, always having all sufficient in all things, may have an abundance for every good work"
2 Cor 8:9
Rich = abundantly supplied with left overs to be a blessing. Not about tycoon / poor
Context of Chap 8&9 is about material things
In everyday living - see God constantly supplying you the favour & wisdom for a speech / for counselling / during a date etc
When we pray, do we judge ourselves and ask "am I worthy to receive this from the Father?"? That's incorrect. should judge "is Jesus worthy to receive this from the Father?"
Do we go by whether we feel grace abounding towards us? That's incorrect too.
We don't need to 'feel' grace. Our response/responsibility is to just acknowledge that grace is abounding toward us because we're the righteousness of God in Christ
Gal 3:5
Therefore He who supplies = present active participle
Works miracles = present active participle
God is constantly supplying the HS and constantly working miracles
You can't 'leak' the Holy Spirit and have less of the Holy Spirit over time
E.g. When you're asked to pray and don't 'feel' anything, know that it is God who is supplying and working miracles, not you.
E.g. When you feel dry, know that God is supplying the Holy Spirit.
Go by the word, not by feelings.
Among = amongst us, in us, around us
Like grace stepped in when u stepped into the shop and suddenly there are a lot of customers / long queue after you
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