Pastor Joseph Prince (1st service live)
(2nd svc was also live and seems like that was the "selected" service for playback. Content still largely the same)
Sermon proper
How to rightly divide the word
Which part is law, which part is grace?
It's not always OT law, NT grace
How to rightly divide the word
Which part is law, which part is grace?
It's not always OT law, NT grace
Many OT laws actually represent NT truths
Eg. Do not mix wool (self effort) and linen (righteousness of God)
Eg. Do not mix wool (self effort) and linen (righteousness of God)
How did Jesus teach the OT
Luke 24:27
V25 All discouragement comes from lack of belief
V27 Books of Moses = first 5 books of OT
Prophets = Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel etc
Didn't talk about Psalms bcos they reached the destination
Even in the law, He taught the things concerning Himself
Fine flour used only in the meal / grain offering
Fine = bcos in Jesus there's perfect balance, He's altogether lovely, no uneveness about Him; never has to retract a statement, never too aggressive or too mild etc
Frankincense on top of the offering = smells very nice when burnt = His every thought / word / deed exudes a fragrance to God
Oil on frankincense = anointed of God
1 thin bread = 3.5 years of Jesus seen by men, but men only sees Him partially / doesn't esteem Him fully
Luke 24:44
Now He has time to talk about Psalms and again it is about Him
Ps 1 is about Jesus
Ps 22 is also about Jesus when He cried on the cross
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You never know how much God loves u until u know how much God loves Jesus
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Importance of rightly dividing the word
2 Tim 2:15If u don't rightly divide, u'll be a workman who will be ashamed
Different applications - law is for the proud and grace for the broken hearted (Martin Luther)
Law is Holy but it can't make men Holy
Dispensation truths
(Also talked about in last week's sermon)
In every dispensation, there is a change in God's way of treating man
And in every dispensation, man is tested & man fails
And in every dispensation, man is tested & man fails
Purpose of all the dispensations is to show that man needs God
It's not right to apply everything today; important to find out which dispensation we're in and the truths of it that apply to us today
1. Innocence = Adam & Eve
2. Conscience = everyone lives by the knowledge of right and wrong / morality teaching
People ended up doing the right things but for the wrong reasons
Eg. Don't commit adultery, but never love wife
Eg. Don't covert, but never give
Eg. Don't covert, but never give
All flesh was corrupted / wickedness of man and evil intentions of the heart (Gen 6:5,12)
Afraid of going to God = evil conscience
Know that the blood of Jesus gives you the right to be there in God's presence
3. Human Government
Tower of babble was to contact power of darkness
Recap stars and story of Jesus written in the stars (21 Feb 2002 sermon)
Ended with man scattered
Know that the blood of Jesus gives you the right to be there in God's presence
God chose Noah
Tower of babble was to contact power of darkness
Recap stars and story of Jesus written in the stars (21 Feb 2002 sermon)
Ended with man scattered
God chose Abraham
4. Promise
There were unconditional promises that depended only on God (eg. land)
And there were also conditional promises that depended on man's behavior
Ended in bondage in Egypt. Why?
They were not supposed to worship other gods but they did (ie. idolatry)
All 10 plagues were to judge the idols
Eg. Plague 2 frogs = bcos they worshipped frogs
Eg. Plague 9 darkness = bcos they worshipped the sun
Recall that children of Israel still worshipped other gods but nobody died until Sinai when law was given
5. Law
Once law given, this is when they started dying
It's a picture of all mankind being unable to keep the law, not just Jews
Recap Nebuchadnezzar's dream / statue sermon
Feet of gentiles = democracy rule
Not a dispensation, but time of gentiles
How to use the law lawfully / correctly
1 Tim 1:8-11
Law is not made for a righteous person (= those who are justified by faith)
Law is made for the lawless, sinners, unholy, murderers, ... etc
Ie. we still need the law to govern others; like in society / police laws
But there is no heart transformation, only behavior modification so as not to violate law outwardly
What happens if we use the law on the righteous
Romans 7:1-3, 4-19
Illustration (V1-3) then application (V4-19)
V5 sinful passions r aroused by the law
When u forbid something, u stir it up in the flesh
When u forbid something, u stir it up in the flesh
V6 delivered from the law = delivered from the 10 commandments law (from v7 context)
Dead to law but now governed by His spirit; not dead to law and free reign!
V8 apart from the law, sin was dead
We are not perfect. Stumbling, but stumbling upwards!
V9 death includes sickness. Bcos sickness is the beginning of death
V18 I want to do good
The moment you say you want to do smth nice, your will is present and sincere, but that's the day you'll likely do worse than intended
Why? Nothing wrong with the law
There is nothing wrong with the law. He is perfect, but too perfect for the bride. Compared to Grace who fulfils everything He demands.
The only legal ground for us to leave the law is for either party to die - either law dies or we die
But the law can't die. So Jesus provides the death for us to die in Christ (and hence die to the law) and then married to another who is the resurrected & glorious one!
Not that we put aside the law, but that we're dead to it
And not that we're just dead to the law and free reign to do anything, but that we're dead to the law AND NOW MARRIED TO GRACE / JESUS.
For what purpose? For bearing fruit
There won't be fruit in ur life until u know that u're dead to the law
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Like Ruth and Boaz
Ruth = by law, she's a moabite and she cannot enter the kingdom, but she ended up in the line of Jesus; what law cannot, Grace can
Un-named man closer to Ruth than Boaz = unbending & cannot save Ruth; picture of law
Boaz = richest man who redeemed Ruth; picture of Jesus
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Now that we're married to Grace, if the law asks us to do this or do that, tell it to go do it itself. We're married to Grace now and take orders from Him.
Even if we feel strong from having been in the presence of Grace, there's still no need to go back and try and please the law. Doing that is spiritual adultery.
Demands of the law no longer have a hold on us.
Law must come first for us to see our need
Sometimes must get lost first to be found / saved later
Justification is by faith. Sanctification is also by faith
V7 referring to when Peter preached at Cornelius' house in Acts 10
gentiles = Cornelius and family
V9 hearts are purified by faith
End of law dispensation = Jesus fulfilling the law
V10 yoke = law
Holy Spirit fell, purifying their hearts by faith, when Peter was preaching Grace (Acts 10)
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Likely that Cornelius is the centurion at the foot of the cross who said "truly this Man was the Son of God"
Why?
Army at the foot of the cross is the army from Caesarea who would follow pontius pilate when he needed to hear a trial. This army would also be the one that carried out the verdicts of pontius pilate.
Few years later, Peter went to Caesarea to the house of Cornelius who happens to also be a centurion (Acts 10)
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6. Grace
Eph 3:2-3
Church age started, but church was a mystery hidden only to be revealed later
Bride of heros of bible = picture of the church = Rebecca, Rachel, Sarah, Ruth
OT prophets saw second coming and first coming as together cos they saw from far
Like seeing 2 mountains from far - they look close and even look like the same mountain until we are nearer
In grace dispensation, God doesn't demand. He gives righteousness to man
Don't mix the dispensations
Don't mix the dispensations
Previously = repent / confess first before u're forgiven
Now = goodness of God leads me to repentance, and I confess bcos I am forgiven
Now = goodness of God leads me to repentance, and I confess bcos I am forgiven
Eph 4:32
God in Christ forgave us = past tense
We forgive others bcos we've been forgiven
We don't forgive others bcos we don't have a revelation of ourselves being forgiven
1 John 4:10, 19
V10 definition of love
But greatest commandment is that we love God with all our heart, soul & strength (Deut 6:5)
Ie. Know tt u can't possibly keep that commandment to love God with all your heart, soul & strength. And now watch Me love u with all My heart, soul & strength
V19 and now we can fulfil the law bcos He first loved us
We've been in this grace dispensation for > 2000 years; shows that grace is what's in God's heart
But even then, this will end in man's failure & lawlessness will come
End of grace dispensation = rapture followed by 7 years of tribulation
7. Kingdom
Then we will return with Jesus and that's millennial & Kingdom rule.
But even then, it will also end in man's failure
Eph 2:4-7
V7 in ages to come / even after the 7 dispensations, there's still exceeding grace to come
Grace still goes on!
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