Destined to Reign (27 page)

I shared with this lady that she can wake up every day and say, “Father, I thank You that You have qualified me to walk in victory, healing and prosperity.” I told her that she should not be racking her brains wondering what she must DO to qualify for God’s goodness. His goodness is
already
hers!

There are too many teachings today telling believers what they must do to qualify for this and that. God’s way is for us to know that through Jesus, we are already qualified.

At the end of the dinner, I said, “Test whatever I have shared with you about the goodness of God, His grace and Jesus’ work at the cross, against what you have heard in your church. Which produces peace in your heart?” She replied, “While I may not understand everything about Jesus because I am a baby Christian, I know that all that you shared has produced great peace and joy in my heart.”

Beloved, joy and peace are the trademarks of the kingdom of God. God is not the author of confusion. He is calling His people out of confusion. Ask yourself this: What produces more peace and joy in your heart — hearing about His judgment and indignation, or hearing about His goodness and grace? What brings abiding peace and joy — to know that God will never punish and condemn you again for your sins because Jesus has already been punished and condemned for you, or to hear that God is sometimes pleased but sometimes angry with you depending on how you perform? What produces true repentance — the fear of judgment or His unconditional goodness?

Your answer is found in His grace, not in your own doing.

My friend, if you are honest, you know that the answer is found in Jesus and His finished work. It is found in His grace, not in your own doing. By trying to qualify yourself today for God’s blessings with all your Bible reading, praying and hard work, you are saying together with the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” You are telling the Lord not to assess, judge and bless you according to His goodness and faithfulness. You are asking Him to assess and judge you according to
your
goodness and faithfulness. Is that what you really want? If not, then begin to put your trust in the finished work of Christ today and enjoy the blessings that flow from His unconditional goodness!

Chapter 18: One Thing You Lack

Are you struggling to live the Christian life today? Your rest is found at the cross of Jesus. If you want to experience effortless success, then realize that it is no longer about you doing this or that right. It is about depending on what Jesus has done for you. Look at what man’s own doing has produced. Has any good come from his own efforts to keep the law of Moses? When man boasted in the law, the next thing we saw was a golden calf. This is not God’s way. We are no longer under the law of Moses. Praise be to God, we are now under the covenant of His bountiful grace!

God’s Goodness Leads Us To Repentance

“But Pastor Prince, we have to preach God’s law and His judgment, or there will be no repentance from the people.”

My friend, God’s heart is never to condemn. We want judgment, but God wants mercy. The Bible says that “the goodness of God leads you to repentance”
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. Do you know how Jesus transformed a foul-mouthed fisherman like Peter? Being a fisherman, Peter was probably also a big, burly guy. So how did Jesus bring him to his knees? Was it fiery preaching on God’s judgment or a hard sermon on the law of Moses that broke this fisherman? Neither! Jesus blessed Peter with a boat-sinking, net-breaking load of fish, and when Peter saw God’s goodness, he bowed down at Jesus’ feet and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
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Now, pay close attention here. Which came first — Peter’s repentance or the goodness of God? Clearly, it was the goodness of God that came first. My friend, it is truly the goodness of God that leads us to repentance!

It is when we experience His love for us that we can respond with our love for Him.

Nevertheless, there are still people who insist that we have to preach on repentance. Well, I disagree! I think that we should do it God’s way — preach the goodness of God and allow the goodness of God to lead people to repentance. Such repentance will be true repentance. It will not be a repentance that is motivated by the fear of judgment and indignation. It will be a genuine repentance that is motivated by His grace, unconditional love and compassion. After all, our ability to love God stems from our first tasting His love for us. It is when we experience His love for us that we can respond with our love for Him. The Bible says, “We love Him because He first loved us.”
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Do you know how the Word of God defines love? Apostle John said, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
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This is the Bible’s definition of love. It is not about
our
love for Him, but rather
His
perfect love for us. As opposed to conventional belief, true repentance from the heart results from a revelation of God’s immense and unyielding love. It is not found in laws, judgment and indignation. When Peter saw Jesus’ goodness and love, he fell to his knees in total surrender to Jesus.

So let’s be scriptural, my friend. It is not the preaching of wrath, fiery indignation and judgment that will cause people’s hearts to turn back to God. It is His goodness, grace and mercy. When you catch a glimpse of that, you cannot help but be overwhelmed by all that He is, and this will lead to true repentance. Let people come to church to enjoy God’s goodness because when they are impacted by His
grace
, repentance, holiness and godliness will surely follow. In the same way that you cannot be under the sun without getting a tan, you cannot be under grace without becoming holy.

Time To Change Your Mind

By the way, for all of you who feel that there should be more preaching on repentance, do you know what the word “repent” means in the first place? The word “repent” is the Greek word
metanoeo
, which according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, simply means “to change one’s mind”
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. But because we have been influenced by our denominational background as well as our own religious upbringing, many of us have the impression that repentance is something that involves mourning and sorrow. However, that is not what the Word of God says. Repentance just means changing your mind.

When John the Baptist said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
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he was essentially saying, “Change your mind, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” This means that even if we do not use the word “repent” all the time on God’s people, every time they sit under the anointed preaching of His Word, repentance is still occurring — their minds are being changed through the preaching of the gospel.

As they hear the gospel of Jesus preached, they are changing their minds about their old beliefs that held them in bondage, and receiving the truth that liberates them. Even as you are reading this book, repentance is going on. You are renewing your mind with the good news of Jesus. You are becoming more and more conscious of His finished work and your righteousness in Christ. When you begin to receive the revelation that you are no longer under the old covenant of law, but are now under the new covenant of grace, the Bible calls that repentance!

Repentance From Dead Works

Believers are often exhorted to repent from sin. However in the New Testament, we are actually exhorted to repent from dead works. You see, sin is simply the
fruit
, dead works are the
root
.

It says in the book of Hebrews that the first foundation stone of our faith is “repentance from dead works and of faith toward God”
7
. Now, “dead works” are not sins. They are the so-called good works that people do to gain righteousness with God. If you pray because you think that praying makes you right with God, that’s a dead work. But if you pray because you
are
right with God and you know that He loves you, there is power there. Can you see the difference? It is the same activity — prayer — but the basis and motivation for doing it are completely different. One is a dead work while the other is a living work by grace.

Similarly, if you study the Bible because you think that doing so makes you right with God, you have missed it. There will be no flow. There will be no revelation because you are not flowing with the Spirit of truth, who bears witness with your spirit that you are already right with God. But if you study the Bible because you know that you are right with God and that the Bible is a love letter from the One who made you right, treasures from the Word of God will open up to you.

My friend, have you ever repented from dead works?

Jesus said, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
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In other words, He was saying to the Jews of His time, “Change your mind and believe the good news — I will shed My blood, and through My suffering and passion, all your sins will be forgiven!” If you are still living under the law and depending on your own efforts to qualify yourself and please God, it’s time to repent (change your mind) from dead works and believe the gospel!

One Thing You Lack

I want to show you two Bible stories that effectively contrast law and grace. These stories are found in Luke chapters 18 and 19. In Luke 18:18–23, we have the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Now, think about this question for a moment. What should the right evangelical answer be?

The right evangelical answer should be, “Believe on Me and you will inherit eternal life.” But that was not what Jesus said to him. Instead, Jesus gave him the law of Moses, saying, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” Jesus gave him the Ten Commandments. Why? Because the young ruler came with pride, believing that he could
do
something to earn and deserve eternal life. Whenever you come boasting in your efforts, Jesus will give you the law of Moses.

Now, listen to what the young man said in response to Jesus: “All these things I have kept from my youth.” Amazing! This man actually claimed that he had kept all the Ten Commandments from his youth! Like the Pharisees, some people really think that they are able to keep all the laws of Moses, not knowing that they have lowered God’s law to a place where they think they can keep it. Jesus came to bring the law back to its pristine standard — not only must there be an outward adherence to the law, there must also be an inward adherence. Jesus showed that God’s law is beyond man’s own efforts. The young man was probably expecting Jesus to compliment him on his law-keeping, and was feeling really confident of himself. But notice what Jesus said to him. Instead of complimenting him, He said, “
One thing you still lack
.”

You see, every time you boast in your law-keeping, Jesus will find something that you lack. In this case, He told the young man to sell all that he had, give it to the poor and follow Him. The young man had boasted that he had kept all the commandments, but now, Jesus was giving him the very first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me,”
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(not even money) and look at what happened. The young ruler walked away, sorrowful. He was not even able to give one dollar to the Lord!

Think about the amazing privilege to follow Jesus. Jesus gave the man an opportunity to follow Him, but the man could not because he could not bear to part with his wealth. In all his boasting, he could not even keep the first commandment.

My friend, if you come to the Lord full of self-righteousness, boasting in your ability to keep the law, He will show you that, according to the law, there is “one thing you still lack”.

Grace Opens Your Heart

Now, let’s go over to Luke 19:1–10. Jesus walked into Jericho and a crowd gathered to see Him. Then, as He passed by a sycamore tree, He looked up and saw Zacchaeus, short, little Zacchaeus who had climbed the tree hoping to catch a glimpse of Jesus as He walked by.

Zacchaeus was a corrupt tax collector, a sinner. But instead of giving him the Ten Commandments, Jesus showed him grace (undeserved favor) and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house. Of course, the people in the crowd were displeased and they said, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

Now, observe what happened at Zacchaeus’ house. Before the dinner was over, Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” Jesus smiled at Zacchaeus and said, “Today, salvation has come to this house.”

I believe that it was the Holy Spirit who put these two stories side by side. I don’t believe that they happened chronologically. I believe that the Holy Spirit placed them in this divine order to show us the contrasting effects of being under the covenant of law, and being under the covenant of grace.