Unmerited Favor (20 page)

It is not possible to be an heir of the world if you are constantly fatigued, sick and flat on your back. No way! God will make you healthy and keep you in divine health in Jesus’ name!

Some years ago, I asked the Lord why the Bible calls every female believer a daughter of Sarah.
¹¹
There were many other women of faith in the Bible, such as Ruth and Esther. So why didn’t God choose to refer to female believers as daughters of Ruth or daughters of Esther? The Lord then showed me in His Word that Sarah was the only woman in the Bible who had her youth renewed in her old age. We see evidence of Sarah’s renewal of youth when she was pursued twice by two different kings who wanted to include her in their harems.

Do you know how old Sarah was when Pharaoh, the first of these kings, wanted her? She was about 65 years old! Now, if that is not evidence enough for you, do you know how old Sarah was when Abimelech, king of Gerar, wanted her? She was about 90 years old! Hey, these were
heathen
kings. I am sure that they were not captivated by her inner or spiritual beauty. Sarah must have had her physical youth renewed for these kings to desire her in her old age. Ladies, are you getting this? The Lord calls you daughters of Sarah. You can trust the Lord to renew your youth as He did for Sarah!

God’s Word promises a renewal of your youth and strength. There are two passages in the Bible that I want you to read for yourself. Psalm 103:1–5 says:

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s
.

—Psalm 103:1–5

Meanwhile, Isaiah 40:31 promises this:

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles
, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

—Isaiah 40:31

As in Sarah’s case, we can experience a literal renewal in our physical bodies. Let us believe God for this physical renewal of our youth, and that after this renewal, we will have a
brand-new body
, but a
wise and experienced mind
. Now, that is a powerful combination and that’s the kind of renewal that God wants to give us.

“Pastor Prince, you keep talking about the blessings of health, wealth and good success. I knew that you were one of those who preach the prosperity gospel...one of those health and wealth preachers!”

My friend, there is no such thing as a “prosperity gospel.” There is only the gospel of Jesus Christ. When you have Jesus and depend on His unmerited favor, all these blessings are added to you. What would you rather I preach about? That God wants you to remain sick and poor? Imagine going to your unbelieving friends and telling them, “Hey, God wants you to be sick and poor. Do you want to be a Christian?” Their response would be, “No thanks, I have enough problems on my own now!”

There is no such thing as a “prosperity gospel.” There is only the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It’s amazing that there are believers who fight the teaching that God heals today. Don’t they realize that they are essentially fighting for the right to be sick? Yet, the moment they fall sick, they have no qualms about seeing a doctor and taking medication, or going to the hospital. Now, if they really believe that it is God’s plan for them to be sick and that He is teaching them some lessons, why do they go against His will by trying to get better? Clearly, there are some inconsistencies here.

It is
not
God’s plan for you to be sick. Sickness, viruses and diseases are not from Him, and He would certainly not put sickness on you to teach you a lesson, any more than you would put sickness on
your
children to teach them a lesson! Be very clear that God does not and will not discipline you with sicknesses, accidents and diseases. We are on the same side as doctors, fighting the same battle against sickness.

Beloved, it is very important for you to get this doctrine right so that you can believe right. What hope is there and how can you have a confident expectation to be healed if you erroneously think that your condition is from the Lord? It is time for you to stop being deceived by wrong teachings. Just look at the ministry of Jesus to see God’s heart for you. Look at the four Gospels. What happened every time Jesus came in contact with a sick person? The sick person got healed! You will never find Jesus going up to a perfectly healthy person and saying, “I want to teach you a lesson on humility and patience. Now, receive some leprosy!” No way! Yet, that is basically what some people are saying about our Lord today.

Jesus wants to bless you with more than enough  so that you can be a blessing to others!

Now, tell me, what happened each time Jesus saw lack? When the little boy brought his five loaves and two fish to Jesus, did He gobble them up and say, “I am giving you a lesson about poverty”? Of course not! Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, multiplied them and fed more than 5,000 people with 12 baskets full of leftovers!
¹²
That’s my Jesus! That’s my Savior! Jesus did not feed the multitudes with just enough food. He blessed them with
more than enough
food. He is the God of more than enough and that is His style. Likewise, Jesus wants to bless you with more than enough, so that you can be a blessing to others!

See God’s Blessing On Abraham’s Natural Seed

Now, let’s look at Abraham’s natural seed, the Jewish people. Have you ever wondered how just a tiny nation has produced some of humanity’s greatest inventors, thinkers, musicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, doctors, academics and philosophers? Here are just some of the Jews whom you may have heard of:

• The Rothchilds of Europe who revolutionized banking.

• Albert Einstein, whose theories resulted in numerous inventions and breakthroughs, and whose famous equation, E = MC
²
, revolutionized the scientific world.

• Alan Greenspan, who was the chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006.

• Steven Spielberg, who is easily Hollywood’s most successful director and producer.

• Levi Strauss, whose company is now probably the most recognized jeans manufacturer in the world.

• Stan Lee, whom millions of comic book fans know as the man behind the likes of Spiderman, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four and Iron Man.

• Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates.

• Johann Strauss II, a celebrated composer who composed over 170 waltzes, including The Blue Danube and Emperor Waltz.

• Yehudi Menuhin, who is commonly considered one of the 20th century’s greatest violin virtuosi.

Now, I may not agree with the morals of some of these famous Jews, but the fact is that the list of their accomplishments and contributions to humanity just goes on and on! For such a small population of people, they have also produced a disproportionately high number of Nobel Prize winners. According to some reports, out of over 750 Nobel Prizes that were handed out between 1901 and 2008, at least 163 recipients, or over 21 percent, are Jews.
¹³

As spectacular as the achievements of the Jews are, they are only experiencing a trickle and a
residue
of the blessing of Abraham. Many of them don’t know Jesus and only have the shadow. How much more should you and I, who have
not the residue but the full substance
of Jesus in our lives, expect!

The secret to walking in the blessing of Abraham in your life is to  stop trying to deserve it. Instead, exercise your faith to believe  that you are righteous through Jesus’ finished work.

Why is it then, that there aren’t more new covenant believers, the spiritual seed of Abraham, experiencing the full blessing of Abraham? The answer is found in Romans 4:13–16, which says:

For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was
not
to Abraham or to his seed
through the law, but through the righteousness of faith
. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace [unmerited favor], so that the promise might be sure to all the seed...

—Romans 4:13–16

The blessing of Abraham for the new covenant believer is made void and of no effect when you try to earn and deserve it through your efforts. Hence, the secret to walking in the blessing of Abraham in your life is to stop trying to deserve it. Instead, exercise your faith to believe that you are righteous through Jesus’ finished work. The more righteousness-conscious you are, the more blessings you will experience. Begin to experience the Abrahamic blessing of being an heir of the world today, trusting entirely on God’s unmerited favor in your life!

Chapter 17: Becoming An Heir Of The World

The fact that God wants you to be an heir of the world makes clear His desire to see you living an overcoming and victorious life. This means that He wants you to REIGN in life. He wants you to reign over every sickness, disease, financial lack, fear, addiction and anxiety. Whatever it is that you may be struggling with right now, Jesus will help you reign over it! God’s Word promises that “those who
receive
the abundance of grace [unmerited favor] and of the gift of righteousness will
reign in life
through the One, Jesus Christ.”
¹

My friend, the operative word here is “receive.” Reigning in life is not a struggle. The only thing that you need to do is to receive—receive not just unmerited favor, but an ABUNDANCE of unmerited favor, and the GIFT of righteousness! You can never have too much unmerited favor. The Lord wants you to keep on receiving and receiving His unmerited favor until you have an abundance of it to reign in life. That is what this book is about. It is about you having an abundance of Jesus’ unmerited favor in your life, and I pray that after reading this book, you will be so saturated with the unmerited favor of Jesus that you can’t help but experience good success in every area of your life!

Romans 5:17 states clearly that righteousness is a
gift
. A gift cannot be earned. It can only be received. Anything that you try to earn cannot be called a gift. It goes against the very definition of the word “gift”! The best response to the gift of righteousness is saying a big “Thank You” to Jesus for making you righteous by His blood. Don’t try to deserve His gift through your works. That would be an insult to Jesus, who has already freely given it to you. Simply receive the gift!

The promise that you will be an heir of the world is  yours because of who you are in Christ.

Similarly, there is nothing you can do to deserve God’s promise that you will be an
heir
of the world. The promise is yours because of
who you are in Christ
. It is your inheritance. And like a gift, an inheritance can only be received. Today, God wants you to receive your inheritance of all the blessings, promises and benefits that Jesus’ finished work has accomplished on your behalf!

In the previous chapter, we looked at why not every believer is experiencing the manifestation of the blessing of Abraham, even though it is supposed to be their inheritance through Christ. We saw that according to the Bible, this blessing was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. This means that access to the blessing of Abraham is not through our performance or our ability to keep the Ten Commandments, but through believing that we are righteous by faith in Jesus. Romans 4:13 says, “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but
through the righteousness of faith
.” Although the Bible is very clear on this, many believers still think that if they fall sick, for instance, it is because they have failed to obey God in some areas of their lives. That is how the church has been programmed to think today. When something negative happens, believers always look at themselves and ask, “Where have I missed it? What have I done wrong?”

I want you to see that the question we should be asking is this: “Where have I
believed
wrong?” You see, what you believe is critical. Do you believe that you are righteous by works, or do you believe that according to God’s Word, you are righteous by faith in Jesus? The Bible is clear about how the blessing of Abraham will occur in your life. If you are not seeing the manifestation of the blessings, whether it is in the area of your health, finances, relationships or career, it is because you are trying to
earn
God’s blessings through the law and your performance, when those blessings come only through the righteousness of faith.

Right Living Is A Result Of Right Believing

“But Pastor Prince, don’t you think that our performance is important?”

I do, absolutely. But I believe that our performance as husbands, wives, parents, employees and children of God is a
result
of believing that we are righteous by faith. I say this over and over again, and I will never grow tired of saying it: Right living is a result of right believing. There are a lot of people preaching and focusing on right living. For them, right living is always about becoming more holy, fearing God more, doing more, praying more, reading the Bible more, serving in church more or giving more money to help the needy. But my friend, when you focus on external behavior alone, you are only dealing with superficial elements.

While strong preaching on holiness may have a temporal effect on people’s behavior, it will not bring about lasting and permanent change. Let me give you an analogy. If you cut off the weeds in your garden but fail to remove their roots, in no time at all, the weeds will grow again in your garden. That is what preaching about right living does in the church. Temporarily, the problem may appear to be resolved, but as long as the roots are still alive, the same wrong behavior, the same evil habits and the same addictions will appear again, just like stubborn weeds.

Believe right and you will live right. The opposite is also true: Believe wrong and you will live wrong.

For decades, the church has preached about “right living,” with no results of long-lasting or permanent change in people’s behavior. It is time for us to go after the root, and the root is not in preaching right living, but in preaching
right believing
. Believe right and you will live right. The opposite is also true: Believe wrong and you will live wrong. Christianity is not about behavior modification. It is about inward heart transformation. Start addressing the root instead and get hold of good teachings that are full of Jesus and righteousness by faith in Him. When you are anchored on these unshakable foundations, your outward behavior will come in line with His Word and you will begin to be transformed into His image from glory to glory! You will produce the fruits of righteousness!

Just in case there is any misunderstanding, let me state this clearly in black and white: I, Joseph Prince,
hate sin
and wrong living. As a pastor of a local church for over two decades now, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of sin. It destroys marriages, breaks up families, brings diseases and basically tears a person apart from the inside out. I am on the same side as those who preach against sin and teach on the need to live right. However, where I differ is that I believe that the solution to stopping sin is not found in focusing on right living. It is found in
right believing
.

I believe the best of God’s children. I believe that true born-again believers in Jesus are not looking for opportunities to sin, but are looking for the power to
overcome
and reign over sin. Even if their actions may not be altogether there yet, I believe that they already know how they
should
be living, and desire to do so. So I believe my part as a pastor is to help them believe right first. When they believe right, and know that they are righteous by faith and not by their works, they
will
live right.

We see in the Bible that the traits of right living include self-control, perseverance, brotherly kindness and love.
²
But did you know that the Bible also tells us why some believers lack these qualities? 2 Peter 1:9 says, “For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and
has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins
.” Wow! This verse is essentially telling us that the reason someone does not manifest these qualities of right living is that he has forgotten that all his sins have been forgiven and that he is righteous by faith in Jesus.

So start believing right, and you will live right! If you don’t see right living in a particular area of your life—perhaps you are struggling with a secret addiction—check what you believe in that area. Somewhere along the way, you have believed a lie. But here’s the good news: When you start confessing your righteousness through Jesus in that area, your breakthrough is just around the corner. Jesus wants to free you!

Use Your Faith To Believe That You Are Righteous In Christ

You can use your faith for many areas of your life, such as your family, health, material needs and career. But the most important area to use your faith in is in the area of righteousness. When you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, not your own righteousness, the Bible says that “all these things”— the blessings that you are believing Him for—will be added to you.
³
Most of the time, when faith is mentioned in the New Testament, especially in the writings of the apostle Paul, it is in the context of using your faith to believe that you are righteous in Christ. It is mostly about righteousness by faith.

Do you know what the opposite of faith is? A lot of believers think that it is fear. But that is not a scriptural answer. The opposite of faith is actually
works
. You can see the contrast between works and faith in Galatians 2:16—“a man is not justified by the
works
of the law but by
faith
in Jesus Christ.” We also know that the promise that Abraham would be the heir of the world was through the righteousness of
faith
and not the
works
of the law.

By the way, if faith is not the opposite of fear, do you know what is? The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:18 that “
perfect love
casts out fear.” This means that the opposite of fear is love. Jesus’ perfect love for you is the antithesis of fear! If you are experiencing any inordinate fear in your life right now, learn to replace that fear with the perfect love and acceptance of Jesus. You don’t have to fear man’s opinions or struggle for man’s approval when you are filled with Jesus’ perfect love. With His love, you become complete and secure as a righteous child of God.

See The End Of The Devil’s Influence Over You

Do you know that the moment the blessing of Abraham is activated in a believer’s life, the devil’s influence over him is over? Now, imagine then, if you were the devil. What strategy would you use, knowing that the promise that a believer would be an heir of the world comes not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith? You would, of course, promote the law as much as possible, and transform all your demons into marketers and advertisers of the law. God’s Word tells us that “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
⁴
And you wouldn’t stop there. You would launch an all-out attack against the message of righteousness by faith, and at the same time, attempt to assassinate the reputation of those who preach this message. You would do all that you can to short-circuit and sabotage the very channel by which God releases the promise that believers would be heirs of the world.

My friend, open your eyes to the devil’s devices and don’t allow yourself to be robbed anymore! When the Lord first opened my eyes to the gospel of grace years ago, I really felt that I had been cheated in my Christian walk. It is so clear in the Bible and yet, I had suffered for years because of wrong believing. How I wish someone had taught me about the truths that I rejoice in today, truths like I am righteous by faith in Jesus and not by my own works!

The law is about doing, whereas faith is about speaking.

By the way, it is important that you know that righteousness by faith is not a “basic teaching.” No, it is a powerful one. And even if you think that you already know all about this teaching, I challenge you to take a closer look at the areas of your life where the blessing of Abraham seems to be void and of no effect. I challenge you to really take time to look at those areas and ask yourself this question: “Do I really understand righteousness by faith?” I also want to challenge you to start speaking your righteousness by faith in those areas.

The Righteousness Of Faith Speaks

Let me say something about faith. You cannot have faith without speaking it. When you study Romans 10, you will notice that it says that “the righteousness which is of the law...
does
...But the righteousness of faith
speaks
.”
⁵
The law is about doing, whereas faith is about speaking. It is not enough to just know in your mind that you are righteous. It is not enough to just read this chapter or hear a sermon on righteousness and mentally agree that you are righteous. You need to open your mouth and say by faith, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” This is where many believers are missing out on the blessing of Abraham. They are not speaking their righteousness by faith.