Grace Revolution
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Introduction
A grace revolution is sweeping across the world today. It is a revolution that is tearing down the walls of legalistic Christian religion and bringing a brand-new generation of believers into a deep and intimate relationship with the person of Jesus. As a result, precious lives are being transformed, marriages are being restored, the sick are being healed, and many are being freed from the bondage of legalism. This liberty has in turn given them the strength and power to rise above their challenges.
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In this book you will hear their stories and find out just how a genuine encounter with their beautiful Savior changed everything in their lives. If you are facing some challenges in your own life, you don’t have to get to the end of this book to find the answer. I want you to know from the outset that Jesus is your solution. He is your answer, your hope, your joy, your peace, and your security. When you have Him, you have everything.
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The grace revolution is all about bringing Jesus back to the forefront. For too long the Christian faith has been reduced to a list of dos and don’ts. That’s not why Jesus came. That’s not what Christianity is all about. Jesus did not come to point out our faults. Truthfully, many of us know what our faults are, and if not, our spouses do a pretty good job of highlighting them to us!
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Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He came to save, to redeem, and to reconcile us to God so that “whoever believes in Him [Jesus] should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That’s the gospel right there, wrapped up in the beautiful simplicity called “grace”—eternal life for us paid for by the bloodstained sacrifice at Calvary. The cross is God’s masterpiece. It is also His master plan to save humanity from itself. It is a foolproof plan without pages of complicated caveats that only a trained lawyer can decode. The truth is that uneducated fishermen, hapless harlots, and the poor could all understand Him.
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A rising tide of grace preachers all around the world are preaching the unadulterated gospel of Jesus. A pastor who listens to my messages regularly took over a church as its senior pastor when it had an average attendance of about a thousand members. He and his wife started preaching strongly on the gospel of grace and unveiling the love of God. He shared with me that in under six months, his congregation doubled in size—they now have more than two thousand people coming every weekend and they are rapidly expanding to new campuses. Why? Because the gospel works! Why should we be surprised that when Jesus is preached and lifted high, lives are touched, changed, and transformed? Come on, this is the grace revolution!
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Grace is not a subject and the grace revolution is not a movement. Grace is a person and His name is Jesus. The grace revolution is an explosive revelation that occurs in the innermost sanctum of your heart when you meet Jesus. It is not an outward revolution but something that is incepted from the inside out.
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Even when you fail, you are failing forward. And when you fall, you don’t crash out. Grace imparts hope to those who are hopeless and help to those who are helpless. When you are worn out, torn down, crushed, depleted, and on the brink of giving up, grace is the hand that pulls you out of the miry pit of defeat. Grace is the supply that floods every crevice of need. Grace is the person Who was nailed to the cross for your redemption.
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My dear reader, I want to thank you for picking up this book. Thousands of new books are published every year and the reality that you and I are having this conversation is not a coincidence. This is a divine appointment. I prayed that this book would find its way to the right person at the right time. You may be going through a severe challenge in your life right now. Things may seem bleak and dismal. The report you just received may be discouraging and disappointing. It may seem as if there is no way out of the quagmire you’re in.
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The truth is that you are not at the end of your rope.
Now is the time to lean your full weight on Jesus.
Now is the time to stop trying to save yourself
and let the Savior save you.
Now is the time to step into
His love and allow Him to transform you
from the inside out.
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Would you give these pages a chance? I believe the truths here will give you new perspectives that will challenge you to live above defeat and experience lasting breakthroughs. To help you on this journey, I have identified five practical and powerful keys:• Grow in Boldness and Confidence
• Build a Foundation for Lasting Breakthroughs
• Value the Person of Jesus
• Speak the Language of Faith
• Receive His Abundant Restoration
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As you take time to understand and internalize these five simple but highly effective biblical principles, I have no doubt that you will be greatly encouraged and strengthened. The scriptural truths shared in this book will not only inspire you to live above defeat, they will also serve as a powerful step-by-step guide to piling deep into your heart an unshakable, rocksolid, and immovable foundation for lasting breakthroughs.
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This is what the grace revolution is all about. It is about your life touched, changed, and transformed from the inside out. It is about living a victorious life. A life that wins. A life that reigns triumphant over failure and frustration. When you encounter the person of grace and when the veil of Christian religion is removed, there is no turning back. You’ll begin to step away from defeat and take a massive leap toward your victory!
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LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!
The grace revolution begins with Jesus. It is not a movement, teaching, or subject to be studied. It is all about a person. What you believe about this person makes all the difference. I am sure you have heard about Jesus and are familiar with His name. You may even have attended Sunday school as a child and heard all the Bible stories about Him. The question is, do you know Jesus personally? Is He a historical figure, a prominent Jewish rabbi, or simply the son of a Galilean carpenter? Who is He to you? Is He just another teacher? Or is He your Savior?
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Whatever adversity, challenge, or circumstance
you may be faced with today,
your answer is found in
the person of Jesus.
Today a grace revolution is
sweeping across the globe,
because the person of Jesus
is boldly preached, proclaimed and lifted high.
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Whatever adversity, challenge, or circumstance you may
be faced with today, your answer is found in the person of
Jesus. Today a grace revolution is sweeping across the globe,
because the person of Jesus is boldly preached, proclaimed,
and lifted high.
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We are receiving testimony after testimony about how people’s lives have been touched and transformed by the grace of God. Many are finding freedom from their long-term conditions, addictions, and bondages. They share joyfully with us how the Lord supernaturally delivered them from panic attacks, substance abuse, and decades of depression. Others write in, brimming with thanksgiving, because God has restored their marriages and their relationships with their estranged children, and healed their bodies when doctors had given them no hope.
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I wish I could read all of them to you,
because you will notice that one
common thread is woven through
all these letters. One common
denominator took these people from defeat
into victory, from breakdowns into breakthroughs:
they all had an encounter with Jesus.
They all caught a revelation of His grace.
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THE POWER OF AN ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS
Dean from Maryland wrote to me to share how his life was transformed by the goodness of God. He said, “Dear Pastor Prince, it brings me so much excitement to share with you the radical change in my life in the last year. I have been watching your television program for a solid year now and read Destined To Reign, Unmerited Favor, and just finished The Power of Right Believing. It’s a thousand pages of one message—grace. I don’t know how I ever missed it all these years. Your teaching on grace and truth has been so revolutionary to me and I want to thank you personally.”
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In the twelve pages that followed, Dean shared with me story of his life and how the Lord had transformed him. When he found out at age twelve that he had been adopted, he began a lifelong battle with feelings of rejection, abandonment, inadequacy, and fear. He even contemplated suicide and started to believe that life was not worth living. In his teen years he started mixing with all the wrong people and developed several addictions: “At fourteen, I began drinking on weekends, at fifteen I was smoking weed, and I was taking cocaine when I was about sixteen. By seventeen, I was without doubt bound with addictions and in flat-out rebellion against God and man.”
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To make matters worse, he discovered meth (methamphetamine) after he got married. Recounting that part of his life, he shared with me, “Up to that time, I had no idea of its destructive and demonic power. At first, it was great as it seemed to take away all my pain—the depression, oppression, rejection, inadequacies, loneliness, and fear. It even curbed my drunkenness. I developed confidence and a feeling of being in complete control. I thought I had found the cure and I never wanted to be without it. So I continued taking meth for the next
nine years and started dealing small amounts to feed my habit. I got caught, had my first felony drug conviction, and had my first trip to prison rehabilitation for 120 days.” Following his first imprisonment, Dean continued to struggle to find peace and answers, and went through many ups and downs while heading in and out of prison.
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Dean’s turnaround happened only when he began to hear about God’s grace. He realized that “grace was not about what I deserved, but all about the Lord’s love and the unearned, unmerited favor that He gives freely without demanding anything.” This revelation simply blew his mind, especially since he was full of guilt over the damage he had done to everyone in his life. It was the light that shone into his darkness and the start of his liberation. Simply put, the revolution in his life began with a revelation of God’s amazing grace.
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What Simply Believing in God’s Grace Can Do
Dean continued to share with me:
Within days of this revelation, another turning point happened. I had kept my television turned on to a Christian channel. Your program was on and you started talking about “rest.” When I heard that word rest, it got my attention. You were speaking from Hebrews 4 and as you spoke about rest, I got up and went to my Bible on my computer and began to study the passage intently. I quickly found that the word rest used in Hebrews 4 was a noun and that upon entering this place of rest, I never ever have to leave. Without doubt, I saw the only way into this place was to simply believe what God was saying about grace.
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My problem was,
I could not simply believe,
or really take God at His word.
I believed that I was His child and
had forgiveness of sins, but
I had also come to believe that
I had to carry my own punishment
for the repeated failures in my life.
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I dove into the Word and in the days and months ahead, my life began to change. I began seeing in the Scriptures the simplicity of the gospel of Christ and the revelation of God’s grace began to transform me from the inside out. I repented by changing my thinking and that began to change what I had been believing. My emotions and behavior began to change effortlessly. I didn’t have to try to feel right, or act right; I just did, and still do. And while I still have my moments, they are getting fewer and further apart.
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I realized that all I had to do was to focus on Jesus’ finished work on the cross and keep my eyes and ears open to His gospel, the good news of grace. I was seeing things I’d never seen before in the Word and understanding what grace means and how this truth sets one free. I began to realize that grace is undeserved favor and there was nothing I could ever do to earn or re-earn this unmerited favor in my life, regardless of my sins or efforts to make things right. I began to realize that I am highly favored and accepted in the beloved family of my Lord.
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To sum it all up, I will say this: As a young boy, I believed in Jesus as my Savior. I knew many of the stories in the Bible. I went to church. But I lived life with a slave and orphan mentality for over thirty years because I could not understand or believe the whole truth of God’s grace—this grace, which is the power of God unto salvation, this grace, which is the light that shines into the darkness.
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I could accept that I was His child forever and
would go to heaven, but because of my repeated failures,
I believed that I would never have love, favor, and
acceptance in this life. I believed that I had to suffer for my mistakes.
Finally, I believed that I had to carry my failures all the way to heaven,
resulting in much pain and damage that almost crushed me to death.
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As I write this, I have been freed of alcohol and drug abuse for over two years and freed of dependence on medication for well over a year. Most of my life, I hated going to bed because I would toss and turn in torment thinking about all my failures and weaknesses. I hated waking up because I knew it would start all over again. In the last year, all that has changed. I go to bed without thoughts of my past. I can’t wait to wake up each morning to expect more of His grace. The guilt, shame, bone-crushing weight of condemnation, and ever-looming depression because of fear, failure, and punishment have all disappeared like the darkness in the light of the rising sun.
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What a revolutionary story of transformation and breakthrough! Thank you, Dean, for having the courage to share your story. I am truly humbled and honored to have been a part of your journey to recovery by pointing you to the person of Jesus. My dear reader, I want to encourage you to believe that you too can experience the freedom that Jesus brings. Dean experienced victory over defeat in his life and so can you. Whatever is keeping you down, be it frequent bouts of depression, self-doubt, or fear, there is a person Who has the power to turn everything around for your good. His name is Jesus.
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In taking this journey to understand the grace of God, it is essential you understand the difference between the old covenant of law and the new covenant of grace. To help you
accelerate your understanding of law and grace, I want to share with you one of my favorite Scriptures. I have preached this verse around the world, from Hillsong Conference in Sydney, Australia, to Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. —John 1:17
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The law was given through a servant. Grace and truth came through the Son. The law talks about what man ought to be. Grace reveals Who God is. In the first miracle of Moses, he turned water into blood, resulting in death. In the first miracle of grace, Jesus turned water into wine, resulting in life and celebration. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (see 2 Cor. 3:6).Under the law, God demands righteousness from sinfully bankrupt man. But under grace, God provides righteousness as a gift. Now, which covenant would you like to be under? The
answer is obvious!
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The truth is, through the cross at Calvary, all who believe in Jesus and acknowledge Him as their Lord and Savior are under the new covenant of grace. Yet today many believers are still living in confusion, and get law and grace all mixed up by holding on to some aspects of the law and some aspects of grace in their Christian walk. Jesus said you cannot put new wine into old wineskins. The new wine will ferment and break the wineskins, and you will lose both (see Matt. 9:17). In the same way, you cannot put the new wine of grace into the old wineskin of the law. One will cancel out the other (see Rom. 11:6).
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Under the law, God said, “I will by no means clear the guilty, but I will visit their sins to the third and fourth generations” (see Exod. 34:7). But under grace, God says, “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more” (see Heb. 8:12). There has been a change! Can you see with absolute high-definition clarity that there has been a radical change and it is all because of Jesus?
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Yet there are many still preaching the law. They are still preaching that if you obey God, God will bless you; if you disobey God, He will curse you. Now, that sounds right, but it’s a dangerous teaching because it nullifies the finished work of Jesus. The law is man oriented and says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.You shall not make for yourself a carved image…. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exod. 20:3–4, 7, emphasis mine). Grace is God-oriented and says, “‘I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people…. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’” (Heb. 8:10, 12, emphasis mine).
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The law is man-centered whereas grace is Jesus-centered. The law focuses on what you must accomplish; grace focuses entirely on what Jesus has accomplished. Under the law, you are disqualified by your disobedience; under grace, you are qualified by Jesus’ obedience. Under the law you are made righteous when you do right; under grace you are made righteous when you believe right. Take a look at the following table, which lists the key differences between law and grace.
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LAW: Given impersonally through Moses, a servant of God
GRACE: Came personally through Jesus, the Son of GodLAW: Reveals what man ought to be
GRACE: Reveals Who God isLAW: Results in miracles of death
GRACE: Results in miracles of life
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LAW: The letter of the law kills
GRACE: The Spirit of grace gives lifeLAW: Demands righteousness from sinfully bankrupt man
GRACE: Provides righteousness as a gift to manLAW: Old, inflexible wineskin
GRACE: New, intoxicating wine
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LAW: Sins remembered and punished by God
GRACE: Sins forgiven and remembered no more by GodLAW: Dispenses blessings and curses
GRACE: Dispenses only blessingsLAW: Man-centered—what you must do for God
GRACE: God/Jesus-centered—what God will do for you/what Jesus has done for you
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LAW: You are disqualified by your disobedience
GRACE: You are qualified by Jesus’ obedienceLAW: You are justified by your works
GRACE: You are justified by faithBeloved, aren’t you glad the Lord Jesus came and died for your sins on the cross so that you can now come under God’s grace and experience the breakthroughs you need?
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The king came down
When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Love your enemies” (see Matt. 5:44). Today we have problems loving our neighbors, let alone our enemies. Jesus also said, “If your right eye offends you, pluck it out, throw it away from you. If your hand offends you, cut it off” (see Matt. 5:29–30). Have you seen anyone who’s fighting for the law do that?
Have you seen any church practice that? Come on, that church would look like a huge amputation ward! So what was Jesus doing when He said those things?
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When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Love your enemies” (see Matt. 5:44). Today we have problems loving our neighbors, let alone our enemies. Jesus also said, “If your right eye offends you, pluck it out, throw it away from you. If your hand offends you, cut it off” (see Matt. 5:29–30). Have you seen anyone who’s fighting for the law do that?
Have you seen any church practice that? Come on, that church would look like a huge amputation ward! So what was Jesus doing when He said those things?
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Jesus was bringing the law back to its pristine standard, as the Pharisees had brought it down to where it was humanly possible to keep. For example, Jesus said that if you look at a woman to lust, you have already committed adultery with her (see Matt. 5:28). The Pharisees thought that unless you physically commit adultery, you have not sinned. You see, Jesus is an expert at using God’s law to bring man to the end of himself so that he will see his need for the Savior. My friend, He didn’t mean for you to pluck out your eye or cut off your hand. (I hope you are not yelling out, “Pastor Prince, why didn’t you write this book earlier?”)
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The Pharisees boasted of their law-keeping; hence Jesus demonstrated to them what it truly takes to be justified by the law. He showed them that it was impossible for man to be justified by the law. For instance, the moment you are angry with a brother in your heart, you have committed murder (see Matt. 5:22)! Now, by a quick show of hands, based on Jesus’ definitive and impeccable interpretation of God’s holy laws, who can stand? No one! Yet many are still preaching the law and wanting people to be under the old covenant of law.
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Follow me now, I want you to catch a beautiful picture of God’s grace. The good news is that Jesus didn’t stop there. He preached the Sermon on the Mount and then He came down. Spiritually speaking, if the King had stayed on the mountain, there would have been no redemption for us. Are you getting this? If Jesus had stayed high up in heaven and decreed God’s holy standards from there, there would have been no hope and no redemption for us. But all praise and glory to the King Who chose to come down from heaven to this earth!
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He came down the mountain. He came down into suffering, crying, and dying humanity. At the foot of the mountain we see how He met a man with leprosy, a picture of you and me before we were washed clean by His precious blood. Imagine: an unclean sinner, standing before the King of kings. There was no way the standards of the Sermon on the Mount could have saved him. There was no way the pristine and perfect standards of God’s holy commandments could have saved us. The King knew that and that’s why He came down to where we were.
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In those days people with leprosy were considered unclean, and wherever they went they had to shout, “Unclean! Unclean!” (see Lev. 13:45) so people would know to run the other way lest they became defiled by the disease. Needless to say, those with leprosy were not welcomed in public places. Yet here the man was before the King, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean” (Matt. 8:2). Notice he didn’t doubt that Jesus could; he doubted that Jesus would.
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In those days people with leprosy were considered unclean, and wherever they went they had to shout, “Unclean! Unclean!” (see Lev. 13:45) so people would know to run the other way lest they became defiled by the disease. Needless to say, those with leprosy were not welcomed in public places. Yet here the man was before the King, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean” (Matt. 8:2). Notice he didn’t doubt that Jesus could; he doubted that Jesus would.
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We need not fear that being under grace will cause licentiousness, because the Word of God clearly states, For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. —Romans 6:14. Unfortunately, there are people twisting God’s Word today. They preach that when you are under grace, sin will have dominion over you. This cannot be further from the truth! Many have been hoodwinked by this false teaching that makes people fearful of God’s grace. God’s Word is so clear: when you are under grace and not under the law, sin shall NOT have dominion over you.
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The word “sin” here is a noun. It is the Greek word hamartia, meaning “a failing to hit the mark.”1 So you can say it this way: sicknesses, diseases, eating disorders, addictions, and any form of oppression or bondage (all examples of our missing God’s mark or standard for a glorious life) shall not have dominion over you. When? When you are not under the law but under grace! This idea that grace will cause people to sin without restraint is from the pit of hell. You cannot be under grace and not be holy any more than you can be underwater and not be wet! It is being under grace that gives you the power to live a victorious life.
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Let me show you how being under grace enables you to overcome your challenges and live victoriously, with an amazing testimony from Anna of Iowa. Anna recounts how the Lord in His grace set her free from many painful years of addiction to cigarettes and marijuana: For the better part of sixteen years, I have been addicted to cigarettes and marijuana, but because of the grace of my Father, I am now free! Although I grew up in a godly environment, attended a charismatic church, spent daily time with God, and even taught in a Sunday school, I was an addict who knew how to hide my addictions well!
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While I have always been known to love people and be kind, I felt as if I
was not being kind to God or myself—I was hurting the temple of God and being a hypocrite. I felt absolutely worthless and thoughts of suicide often raced through my mind.
Throughout the sixteen years of bondage, I attempted so many times to quit my addictions, including the time I was pregnant with my two beautiful boys! I did quit for a while but as soon as I gave birth, I quickly picked up the habits again because the desires had never left my heart.
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While my prayers for others have always been powerful and effective, I was very mad at God because my prayers for my own freedom seemed to go unheard, or at least unanswered. Then, about a year and a half ago, I began to watch Joseph Prince’s television program
daily. Sometimes, I would watch a certain program multiple times. At one point in time, Joseph Prince almost completely filled the space available in my digital video recorder. I also began ordering materials that the Holy Spirit led me to get, and I was in the word of grace for hours daily, even while under the influence of cigarettes and marijuana. Hope began to fill my heart—not hope that I would soon be free, but hope that no matter what my state was, my Father would NEVER be mad at me! His grace was enough for the apostle Paul, and His grace is enough for me!
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For so long, I tried to earn the blessings of God. But after allowing the water of the Word to cleanse me daily, I was able to receive His love, grace, shalom, and all of His blessings, regardless of behavior. Every time I used cigarettes or marijuana, I would say, “Thank You, Father, that I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!” I quit trying to quit and decided that His grace was enough for me! One day, several months ago, I was set free from both addictions! I didn’t try to quit; it just happened. My heavenly Father has completely taken the desires away from me. Even when I am in public and exposed to others who are smoking, I still have no desire to do the same! Even right now, thinking about this great freedom, I have to cry, and cry out, “My Father is SO faithful!”
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Thank you so much for daring to speak the
truth. I’m sure it’s not easy sometimes, but I am
so grateful that Christ, through your ministry,
has set me free! I now have my family, who are
involved in prison ministry, listening to and
reading your materials. I myself am now part of
this prison ministry and write letters
containing the truth to those behind bars. It’s
time for the captives to be set free in the name
of Jesus!
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Wow, that is truly the grace revolution in action! I rejoice and celebrate with you, Anna, for being completely free from two sixteen-year addictions! Thank you for taking the time to write and testify about what Jesus has done in your life. I believe that many will be touched and inspired by your testimony. What willpower and self-effort couldn’t do, God did by the power of His amazing grace. His living and eternal Word proclaims, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). Grace is the power over every addiction that is destroying you. Only grace can give you lasting freedom.
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2
Inside-Out Transformation
It had been one of those nights they dreaded. Famished and fatigued from working all night at sea and catching nothing, the fishermen carried their fishing nets to shore as the golden sun
rose over the Galilean horizon. That morning the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee was bustling with unusual activity. Children fresh from a good night’s rest ran gleefully along the water’s
edge in front of their parents. Large numbers of people began to throng the waterfront. The entire stretch was brimming with a festival-like atmosphere.
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What are all these people doing here? wondered Simon Peter, perplexed and mildly annoyed at the festivities and the din from the crowds of people pouring onto his beach. Sleep deprived
and frustrated that they had no catch to show for their arduous fishing expedition, he shook his head and began washing his fishing nets. Then he saw the man everyone was crowding to see. Before he knew it, this man headed in his direction and got into his boat! He then gestured to Peter, and Peter and his crew instinctively grabbed their nets and went back into the boat. The man smiled warmly at Peter, as if he knew Peter was the proprietor of the boat, and asked if Peter could push the boat out some distance from the shore. By this time the
waterfront was blanketed with people eager to hear this man speak.
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Without a moment’s hesitation, Peter turned to his seasoned crew and instructed them to push the boat out. The crew responded swiftly to their captain and watched the stranger in their boat attentively. The man nodded in appreciation to the crew, sat down by the edge of the boat, and began teaching the multitudes gathered on the shore.
When he was done speaking, he turned to Peter and requested that Peter and his men launch out into the deep and let down their nets for a catch. The request stung Peter’s heart and he explained to the man that they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. Nevertheless, he was willing to comply with the man’s request.
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Without a moment’s hesitation, Peter turned to his seasoned crew and instructed them to push the boat out. The crew responded swiftly to their captain and watched the stranger in their boat attentively. The man nodded in appreciation to the crew, sat down by the edge of the boat, and began teaching the multitudes gathered on the shore.
When he was done speaking, he turned to Peter and requested that Peter and his men launch out into the deep and let down their nets for a catch. The request stung Peter’s heart and he explained to the man that they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. Nevertheless, he was willing to comply with the man’s request.
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As they sailed out into deep waters, Peter was certain that they would catch nothing. After all, they had already tried all night. He had been fishing in these waters since he was a youth and knew the most opportune time to fish—definitely not this late in the morning! Peter found himself wondering, What would a carpenter from Nazareth know about fishing? As the boat reached the deep waters, Peter just went through the motions and cast one net into the water. One net, he thought, was enough to prove his point that there simply weren’t any fish to be caught! Had it been anyone else—anyone but this man who carried himself with quiet authority and a warm friendliness—he would have scoffed at the request. But this man… something in his voice and carriage just made Peter acquiesce, despite every instinct telling him nothing was going to happen. What happened next stunned Peter.
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It was as if the net suddenly became a fish magnet! Massive schools of large tilapia began rushing into the net from every direction. Fish after fish that had eluded them all night started swimming into their net, straining its capacity until it began to tear as Peter and his men began to haul up this unprecedented load of fish. The amazed and frantic fishermen
quickly hollered to their friends in another boat to come and help them. Now two boats were side by side, with both crews hauling fish into their boats. The men worked furiously, loading onto the boats the thrashing fish with their silver scales glistening in the sun… until both boats were so full of fish that they began to sink!
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Blown away by what he was witnessing, Simon Peter knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8). Now, which came first: Peter’s repentance or God’s blessing? Under the new covenant of grace, God blesses you first, and
His blessings, favor, and overflowing love lead you to repentance! Peter and his crew of mariners had toiled painstakingly all night and caught nothing. Then, when Jesus stepped for the first time into his boat, Peter’s business suddenly began to flourish and thrive beyond his wildest imagination.
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Do you feel as if you have toiled all night and caught nothing? Perhaps you feel as though you are in a dead-end situation in your career. Or perhaps whatever you have been trying to do to save your marriage just isn’t working. Maybe your toil is in the area of your parenting—no matter how much effort you put into reaching out to your child, the relationship just seems to grow colder and more distant by the day. Now is not the time to give up, but to listen to your wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus. Hear Him.
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Rather than depend on your experience and expertise, lean in to Him. You are not alone in your boat. Listen to Him and do exactly what He tells you to do. Our Lord Jesus told Peter to let down “your nets”—plural. Peter said, “At your word I will let down the net”—singular (see Luke 5:4–5). It is no wonder the net began to break and Peter had to call for his friends to come and help him. Jesus is your very present help in time of need. Whatever your struggle is today, you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is with you and knows exactly how to help you.
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Rather than depend on your experience and expertise, lean in to Him. You are not alone in your boat. Listen to Him and do exactly what He tells you to do. Our Lord Jesus told Peter to let down “your nets”—plural. Peter said, “At your word I will let down the net”—singular (see Luke 5:4–5). It is no wonder the net began to break and Peter had to call for his friends to come and help him. Jesus is your very present help in time of need. Whatever your struggle is today, you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is with you and knows exactly how to help you.
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There are also people who have been toiling relentlessly, trying everything they know to get their lives right and win God’s approval. The more they try, the more distant they feel from Him. The harder they push, the more they feel that they consistently fail and disappoint Him. They are just as exasperated, fatigued, and frustrated as the fishermen who had labored all night and caught nothing. My dear reader, if this describes you, I want you to know that God loves you even with all your imperfections. Yes, in all your failings, in all your mistakes, God still loves you! Come to Him just as you are.
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But Pastor Prince, you don’t understand. I have this horrible addiction. Whatever that addiction is, my friend, come to Jesus. Let Jesus embrace you, hug you, and hold you. Don’t worry or be consumed by your weakness. Instead allow Him to love you into wholeness. Jesus will transform you with His perfect love. Let me sort out my life first, then I will come. No one tries to clean himself before he takes a bath. Jesus is the bath! Come to Him with all your inadequacies, all your addictions, all your habits, and all your hang-ups, and let Him do what He does best. Let Him save you and restore you to wholeness!
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When you think of Joe Montana, what do you think of? Possibly one of the best quarterbacks to ever play football. When you think of Michael Jordan, you think, One of the best basketball players ever. Now, what do you think of when you think of our Lord Jesus? While it is great that you know what all these sports superstars do, the reality is that what they do on the fields and courts won’t change your life. It is much more important that you know our Lord Jesus as your Savior. Saving is His job description. Saving you is what He does best!
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At this point you may be thinking, Pastor Prince, I want to believe you and just come to Jesus as you say, but isn’t there a place for repentance when you have fallen short? I’ve been cautioned that grace preachers like you don’t teach repentance. My dear friend, let me say this right from the start. I believe wholeheartedly in preaching repentance. Let me show you something beautiful about the word for repentance in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew alphabet is made up of twenty-two letters, from aleph to tav. And each Hebrew letter has a picture, numerical value, and meaning.
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The Hebrew word for repentance is teshuvah, which is made up of five Hebrew letters—tav, shin, vav, bet, and hei. The first letter, tav, has as its pictogram a cross. The last letter, hei, is the fifth letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and the number five in Bible numerics represents grace. Sandwiched between tav (cross) and hei (grace) are the letters shin, vav, and bet.
These three letters form the word shuv, which means “to return.” Putting it all together, teshuvah or repentance means this: “Because of the cross of Jesus, return to grace”!
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Isn’t it amazing that hidden in the Hebrew letters we just saw are God’s heart and explanation of what true repentance is? Repentance is all about returning to God’s grace because of His goodness demonstrated at the cross of Jesus. It is not about returning to the law of Moses. It is about turning to the cross and returning to His grace. His grace is your source of
power and strength over every sin. So if you have made a mistake, or you are struggling with
a sinful habit today, repent by turning to the cross—seeing that mistake punished in the body of Jesus—and receiving God’s unmerited favor to overcome this area of weakness. This is how you practice true repentance when you have failed. Don’t run away from Him. Run to Him! He is your solution. He is your answer. He loves you and longs for you to return to His loving embrace!
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If repentance is returning to God’s grace, how can grace be a license or excuse to sin, as some claim? Grace is the power of God to overcome every sin. But if anyone who is living in sin claims that he is under grace, let me be the first to tell you that this person is not living under grace. The authority of God’s Word proclaims that “sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). No one can use God’s grace to justify his or her sin! It is contrary to God’s Word and contrary to the gospel of grace. True grace swallows up the destructive power of sin.
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Some people have been using the word grace freely. They call themselves grace preachers, grace ministries, or grace churches. But I encourage you to be discerning and to test everything you hear. Just because they use the word grace in their teachings doesn’t mean they are accurately or truly representing the gospel of grace. Test everything! Be sure that
their position against sin is clear. Sin is destructive and brings with it a whole host of damaging consequences.
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The consequence of committing a sin is not God’s judgment or punishment, any more than placing your hand in the fire and getting burned is a punishment from God. The destructive and painful effects of your hand being burned aren’t from God. They are a consequence you face for using your free choice destructively. In the same way, if someone is deliberately dabbling in sin and living a sinful lifestyle, they will be burned by the destructive consequences that come with sin.
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The only way to help precious people overcome the power of sin is to preach them into God’s amazing grace. Some ministers think that when there is sin, they need to preach stronger, harder, and harsher sermons on the law of Moses. I believe with all my heart that they are sincere. But the Word of God tells us that “the strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56). Preaching more of the law is like adding more fuel to the fire. People don’t get liberated and transformed when we beat them down with the law of Moses. They get liberated and transformed when they encounter the love of their Savior!
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I believe that truly born-again believers are not looking for an excuse to sin. How can they, if they have been impacted by Jesus’ love and sacrifice? I believe that they are looking for a way out of sin and out of the prison of fear, guilt, and condemnation. And the more strongly I preach God’s amazing grace and unconditional love, the more my ministry office receives testimony after testimony from people who have been set free from all kinds of sins and addictions. These accounts tell us that God’s people don’t want to sin and are overcoming sin by turning to the cross and returning to grace. We receive testimonies from people who have been liberated from pornography, alcoholism, drugs, and sexual immorality. Now that’s the power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Sin no longer dominates people and true repentance occurs when the gospel of grace is preached!
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We have looked at the Hebrew word for repentance. Now let’s look at the Greek word for repentance—metanoia. Meta means “change,” while noia is from the word nous, which means “mind.” So metanoia or repentance means “a change of mind.”5 Why is changing your mind important? Simply because right believing always leads to right living. When you believe right about God’s grace, about your righteousness in Christ, and how you are called to be set apart for holiness, everything changes! His love touches you in the deepest recesses of your heart and you begin to experience transformation from the inside out. That’s the grace revolution in action. You begin to live above defeat and experience lasting breakthroughs because the power to fight off any temptation is not from without, but from within. It is not contingent upon your willpower; it is contingent upon the power of the Holy Spirit living mightily and actively in you, bearing witness to the gospel truths you believe.
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Let me share with you a precious testimony I received from Robert, which bears out this point poignantly:
I am a pastor in North Carolina who works full-time outside of ministry. I also attend a theological seminary. I was preaching right living and was trying to live right and do increasingly more to serve Jesus. Life was very demanding and I felt myself being burned out. I had considered stepping out from ministry for a short while to finish school. It was all just too much for me. I also had a fifteen-year struggle with addiction to spit tobacco. I even stood on the pulpit one Sunday and confessed my addiction. I held up a can of tobacco and said that I, as David did to Goliath, would cut off its head and feed its carcass to the birds.
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Full of remorse, I told the people I had resolved to put the addiction away, and many came to the altar that day to cast off their addictions too. However, I was back at mine
within a week and feeling great condemnation. I am positive that many others who came down that day also did not have lasting victory. I fought and fought, quit and quit, over and over again. I eventually found Joseph Prince Ministries and a friend gave me some of Pastor Prince’s teaching materials. I was amazed at what I was hearing and reading, because I had never heard the gospel preached in this manner. I knew it was truth and it began to set me free.
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I heard Pastor Prince preach a sermon where he said that the solution was to quit trying to win
on my own and to confess to the Lord, “Lord, I cannot, but You can.”
This became my motto and I quit trying to quit using tobacco. I no longer stayed buried under guilt and condemnation. I believed and confessed that even though I was struggling with this tobacco habit, God still loves me no less and that Jesus’ finished work still avails for me. I can now testify that I have been tobacco-free for more than a year. Every time an urge pops up, I say to the Lord that I know His grace and what He has for me are much better than tobacco, and the urge leaves.
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I heard Pastor Prince preach a sermon where he said that the solution was to quit trying to win
on my own and to confess to the Lord, “Lord, I cannot, but You can.” This became my motto and I quit trying to quit using tobacco. I no longer stayed buried under guilt and condemnation. I believed and confessed that even though I was struggling with this tobacco habit, God still loves me no less and that Jesus’ finished work still avails for me. I can now testify that I have been tobacco-free for more than a year. Every time an urge pops up, I say to the Lord that I know His grace and what He has for me are much better than tobacco, and the urge leaves. Praise God! This message of unmerited favor has changed my life and ministry. I am now preaching and teaching grace every time I step onto the pulpit! Thanks be to God and thank you, Pastor Prince.
Robert, thank you for sharing your story and encouraging so many who are searching for the key to lasting victory!
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My dear reader, no matter how long you may have struggled with a bad habit, I want you to know it is never too late to invite our Lord Jesus and His grace into your situation. It is
never too late to return to His grace, the only power that can give you permanent inside-out transformation. Perhaps you too have been trying to quit whatever has you in bondage but still find yourself unable to truly break free. I want you to pay attention to how Robert found freedom and the power to stay on an upward cycle of victory. Notice how Robert said that in his desire to quit his addiction, he had “fought and fought” only to have to “quit and quit, over and over again.” Despite publicly committing to “cast off” his addiction before his congregation, he was back at it within a week. Robert, like many sincere believers, had gone down the “feel remorse and repent” route numerous times and still not found the victory he needed.
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But real change for Robert happened when he discovered the truth of God’s grace, what the Lord Jesus has done for him on the cross, and how God still loves him and would help him despite his failings. And as he began to focus on these truths and return to these truths of God’s grace every time he felt an urge to return to his habit, he began to experience victory over his addiction. This is what believing right—true repentance—did for Robert. It didn’t give him an excuse to continue in his sin or take sin lightly. No, it made him an overcomer. It made him a testimony of God’s amazing grace at work in the life of someone who chose to depend on that grace. Notice that the right living Robert wanted to experience became a reality not
when he was trying to make it happen on his own, but when he discovered and then kept returning to grace whenever he was weak. This, dear reader, is the key to overcoming sin and every bondage in your life.
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Today, if you’ve been trying to quit a habit, I encourage you to return to the truth of God’s grace—that what our Lord Jesus has done for you at the cross is so much greater than all your failings. That because of His perfect, finished work, you are still deeply loved, highly favored, and greatly blessed. When you let such a revelation of God’s grace wash over your heart again and again, you can’t help but deeply appreciate what the Lord has done for you and how His grace has set you apart to shine for His glory. You won’t want to continue in sin. Instead you will find every sinful urge gradually leave until they all leave for good. You will embark on an upward cycle of lasting transformation!
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My wife Wendy and I have met so many women—wives and mothers—who’ve come to us and shared how right believing in God’s amazing grace has set them free of daily struggles in their relationships with their spouses and children. They told us how entrenched mind-sets that used to trip them up and bring tension into their family life just began to inexorably dissolve when they let the grace of God wash over them and began to believe in His goodness. Things they had tried for years to change on their own, like an explosive temper or perpetual anxiety over their performance as a parent, just disappeared effortlessly. Many also expressed how, as they tasted and rested in their heavenly Father’s love for them, the guilt and frustration that came with the stress of daily parenting simply gave way to peace, to a permanent sense of God’s joy, and subsequently to healthier relationships with their husbands and children.
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My dear reader, whether you’re trying to quit an addiction or want to be a more loving and forgiving spouse or parent, your answer is found in the person of grace and in returning to His grace every time you feel weak or fail. That’s what true repentance is all about. When you’ve made a mistake, remember and receive afresh the forgiveness and righteousness that Jesus has provided for you at the cross. Believe He is still with you, loving you, and working in you to walk in His victorious and abundant life. This is how you practice returning to His grace. The Lord’s amazing grace will bring deliverance, a fresh start, and new ways of living and loving that will radically transform your life, your marriage, and your parenting for His glory.
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3
Hear The Word Of His Grace
Trembling at the thought of discovery, the man with leprosy crouched beneath a stone slab one of the many that dotted the slopes of the picturesque hills that framed the Sea of Galilee. He had come to see the man they called Jesus, Who he had heard was a healer. The man’s name had been on everyone’s lips, and how He traveled with His band of disciples, teaching in synagogues and open spaces, was well known. But mostly the people had talked about how Jesus healed —how everyone who had gone to Him for healing, whether from the Decapolis, Galilee, Jerusalem, or east of the Jordan River, received their healing. He turned none away. Whatever their conditions—fevers, paralyses, deaf ears, or demonic
oppression—He healed them all.
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All. That little word gave him hope that perhaps even he might be made whole. And so he had listened for where he might find Jesus. And that was how he had heard that Jesus was heading to the hills surrounding the Sea of Galilee. By the time this man reached the hills, a large multitude had gathered on the slopes to listen to Jesus teach. Desperate to be healed of his terrible condition, yet terrified of being seen and stoned by the crowds, he had decided to hide himself. This poor diseased man couldn’t see Jesus from where he was hiding in fear, a safe distance from the crowds. But because of the unique acoustics of the hills, he could hear every word that Jesus was speaking to the multitudes:
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“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life— whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?” (Matt. 6:25–26 NLT). He listened attentively—the timbre of Jesus’ voice and every word He spoke carried an immeasurable depth of understanding and empathy for his everyday fears. Embers of hope that he had thought long dead suddenly flared to life, fanned by the authority of Jesus’ words. Whereas he had initially trembled from fear of being exposed, now he began trembling with a different emotion that made him listen even more fervently to Jesus’ next words:
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“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you” (Matt. 6:28–30 NLT). As the meaning of Jesus’ words sank in, the man with leprosy began to weep. For the first time in years, he wondered, Is this possible? That God wants to be a Father to me? A heavenly Father Who would clothe me much better than the lilies, which are better clothed than Solomon in all his glory—if I put my trust in Him? Is it possible that God is reaching out to me with kindness, acceptance, and love, and inviting me to taste and receive His goodness? After all the years of being rejected and living as an outcast, something deep within his heart broke at these new thoughts and brought on a fresh flood of tears.
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Galvanized by the unmistakable compassion in Jesus’ voice that caused hope to race along every still-intact nerve in his body, the man crawled out of his makeshift shelter the moment Jesus finished speaking. All thoughts of staying hidden were gone. All he wanted to do was to go to Jesus and ask Him to take his disease away. As he began to make his way to Jesus, he heard footfalls and movement just ahead of where he was. There, coming down the hill, a man walking slightly ahead of a few others caught his eye. He realized it was Jesus, coming straight toward him.
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Instead of having gone straight down to the crowds after preaching to them, the Lord had turned another way to go toward the lone, afflicted man, as if He already knew all about the man’s need and where he was. Unable to hold back his feelings, the man fell at Jesus’ feet and worshiped Him. In a voice still choked with tears, he whispered, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Without hesitation, as if that was exactly why He was there, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” He said, with the same compassion and warmth the man had heard earlier in His voice. “Be cleansed” (see Matt. 8:2–3).
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As he felt the touch of Jesus’ warm hands, the man closed his eyes involuntarily and his body shuddered under that touch. It had been so long since he had felt the touch of another human being, let alone a warm and loving touch. Then he opened his eyes to look at Jesus, and found Him smiling at him with love in His eyes. Sensing that something was different about his body, the man looked down at his hands, which a moment ago had been covered with open sores and had ended in stubs for fingers. His eyes beheld healthy hands with fingers fully formed and skin completely whole. Like one in a dream, he began lifting the sleeves and hem of his robe and watched in amazement as the cloth rolled upward to reveal smooth, unblemished skin covering his arms, legs, and feet. He was cleansed! The power of Jesus had, in an instant, swallowed up his uncleanness.
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He looked up into the face of the One Who had made him whole, overcome with gratitude. Even as he turned to go, the man knew he would never forget the compassion and encouragement he had seen in our Lord Jesus’ face, nor His warm and affirming touch. He has not just healed and cleansed me, the elated man thought as he walked away in wonder. He has given me back
my life!
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When I visited the Mount of Beatitudes in Israel some time ago, the Lord opened my eyes to see for the first time how He had met the man with leprosy. After preaching to the multitudes, our Lord didn’t go down the mountain toward them, otherwise the Bible would not have said that the multitudes “followed Him” (Matt. 8:1, emphasis mine). Our Lord had actually walked down the mountain in another direction, very likely toward Capernaum, because after His preaching on the mountain, the gospel accounts tell us that He entered that city (see Matt. 8:5). As I took a path down the mountain toward Capernaum that day, I saw slabs of stone strewn along the foot of the mountain. These stone slabs are just the right size for a man to crawl under to find shelter.
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Right then and there, I had the revelation of how the man with leprosy could have hidden under one of these slabs for fear of being discovered by the people, and how our Lord Jesus had known the man was hiding there and deliberately gone to seek him before the crowds caught up with Him. In Jesus’ day those with leprosy were ostracized and isolated in accordance with the law of Moses. Because they were conscious of how unclean they were and what the law required of them, their natural response was to withdraw and hide. But hiding didn’t get the man with leprosy in Matthew 8 the healing and restoration he needed. Fortunately, hearing about the goodness of God—how God wanted to be a loving Father to him and take care of all his needs—got him out of hiding and into seeking the Lord for his miracle. It changed his mind from seeing a God Who ostracized and condemned unclean people to seeing a God Who loved them no matter what their condition. This change of mind lit his faith and put courage in his heart to seek and receive the healing he so desperately wanted.
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Like the man with leprosy at the start of his story, could you also be hiding from God today? Maybe you’ve been struggling with an addiction or cycle of defeat that you can’t seem to get out of. Maybe you’ve been a victim of sexual abuse and you blame yourself for it. Maybe you’ve had a failed marriage or business, or made a bad decision that has led to loss. And maybe your failure has caused you to avoid God, avoid going to church, and avoid people in general. Beloved, whatever may be causing you to feel “unclean” or disqualified today, God wants you to change your mind about Him and, instead of hiding from Him, run to Him!
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How does one change from hiding from God to running to God? Well, the Bible tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17 NASB). The man with leprosy had enough faith to come out of his hiding place and head straight for Jesus because of the gracious words he had heard from Jesus. If our Lord had preached a hell fire-and brimstone message of condemnation, do you think the man would have dared to approach Him for healing? Of course not. He would have walked away fearful of punishment, and feeling more condemned and hopeless than ever. But because he heard words of grace—how God wanted to be a loving Father to him and provide for all his needs—faith arose in his heart, giving him the confidence to approach the Lord Jesus for his miracle.
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My dear friend, what you hear about God is of utmost importance. It can mean the difference between receiving your miracle and remaining where you are in your lack or bondage. It can draw you close to God, or drive you further away from Him. Faith comes by hearing, but fear also comes by hearing. If you’ve been hearing about a God Who is mostly angry and out to get you for your sins, how can you have faith to look to Him for help? If you’ve been hearing that He gives people (even believers) sicknesses and punishes them with horrible accidents for their sins, how can you look to Him for healing? If you’ve been hearing that He wants you and your family poor to keep you humble, how can you believe Him for financial breakthroughs or deliverance from mounting debts? How can you possibly trust God for anything good if all you’ve been hearing are sermons that make you feel more condemned and
fearful of His judgment?
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It’s sad, but the things I’ve just mentioned are the very things people are hearing about God. Just look at the movies made about God today—God is always portrayed as mean, judgmental, petulant, destructive, and even murderous! How they’ve perverted Who God really is—“compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love” (Ps. 103:8 NLT)! Don’t misunderstand me. God does have anger, but the Bible never defines God as wrath; it defines God as love (see 1 John 4:8, 16). Did our Lord Jesus ever condemn the prostitutes and tax collectors, those despised and rejected by society? No, He was a friend of sinners! Did He ever take away from the poor, or inflict the sick with more diseases? No, He fed a hungry multitude, with twelve baskets full of leftovers, and healed everyone who sought Him for healing, wherever He went!
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The Bible tells us that Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38, emphasis mine). What does that tell us? God wants to do good, not evil, to us! If this were not true, God would not have been with Jesus, backing Him up. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father…. Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works” (John 14:9–10). If you want to know what God is really like (and not what man portrays Him to be), look at Jesus in the Gospels. He is God’s will in action, and He went about doing good—saving, delivering, healing, restoring, providing, guiding, and loving the unlovable. That’s our God!
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Beloved, if you want to have faith for your breakthrough, make sure you are hearing and believing right about God through the word of Christ. By the way, it is the word of Christ, not the word of God, as written in some Bible translations. The Greek word used in Romans 10:17 is Christos for Christ. What’s the difference? The word of Christ refers to the word of the new covenant, the word of His grace. In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul says, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). What is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among the saints? It is the word of His grace or the word of Christ. The Bible exhorts us to “Let the word of Christ [Christos] dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Col. 3:16).
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So if you’re feeling discouraged today, I encourage you to keep hearing messages full of the grace and finished work of our Lord Jesus. Whatever your circumstances, keep hearing about how your sins have all been forgiven through Christ, and how you are today the righteousness of God in Christ. Whatever the prognosis you’ve heard, keep hearing about how much God loves you and wants to be a loving Father to you, to watch over you, provide for you, and deliver you from all your fears and afflictions.
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My friend, when you give priority to this daily, you will have the word of Christ dwelling richly in you. And it is this word of His grace that will impart faith and hope to you. When you know God’s love for you, it will cause you to run to Him instead of hiding from Him. His love upon you and in you will make you strong. It will cause you to overcome every temptation and fear, slay your giants, and live life with greater boldness and victory!
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Let me share with you the personal story of Calli from Florida. As painful and heartrending as her experiences were before she encountered the person of Jesus, much greater was the Lord’s restoration to her when she began to hear the word of His grace:Throughout the years I was raised in church and studied at a Bible college, legalistic teachings had led me to believe that my sin was greater than the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. As a result, I lived in constant fear that I would lose my salvation every time I sinned. My past haunted me and I could never seem to outrun it as the torment simply overwhelmed me.
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I was sexually abused and threatened into silence when I was younger. This caused me to live in shame, guilt, and a cycle of violence, abusive relationships, rape, drug abuse, insanity, suicidal tendencies, and selfmutilation. I was also tortured and beaten by my first husband when I married him at the age of twenty-three. Consequently, I developed multiple personalities and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I was admitted to a state institution and hospitalized in psychiatric wards thirty-eight times over a span of twenty-nine years. I was also bound to an addiction to cigarettes and drugs for over thirty-six years.
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I was hopelessly enslaved by the chains of addiction and insanity for many years. I was considered permanently and totally mentally disabled, and was in a day treatment program for the chronically mentally ill. Churches started developing “compassion fatigue” and got tired of praying for me. I was even told, “Perhaps your schizophrenia is your cross to bear.” Since they gave up on me, I immersed myself in a world of bondage and sadomasochism. Still, I was not content and I wanted to go home to my heavenly Father, even though I thought that He did not want me anymore. I felt like I was the beaten leftovers of the church.
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But oh, thank You, Jesus! He did not give up on me! I had begun watching Joseph Prince Ministries’ broadcast on television. And as I listened to Pastor Prince teach on grace, the Lord began to open my heart, and for the first time, all the head knowledge of Scriptures I had memorized since I was a child began to bring illumination to my mind when I saw them through the lens of God’s grace, and hope and faith began to spring in my heart. Then one day, I heard Pastor Prince share on how Noah never fell out of the ark even though the ark was tossed about in the water, and how Jesus said nothing could take us out of His hands. As I listened, the Lord spoke to me.
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I heard Him in my heart, calling my name, and telling me, “My child, I have held you in the palm of My hands all these years that you have stumbled, fallen, and wandered. I have called you, and waited for you to turn and hear My voice. You are Mine.” I realized then that just hearing about Jesus and His grace had broken through all my chains of darkness, insanity, and addictions. I shouted “HALLELUJAH!” in my apartment, and I broke down and wept. For the first time in my life, I felt all my shackles fall off. After that, it was as though I had never picked up a cigarette or drug in my life, and all the insanity was gone!
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I now take no medication for schizophrenia or PTSD. I no longer have fourteen personalities. My doctor, who had worked on me for almost twenty years, has seen the changes—and has declared that I am no longer a mental patient. Praise God for the grace message that Pastor Prince is preaching—the same gospel that Apostle Paul preached in the Scriptures! This gospel is indeed the power of God unto salvation! I am living proof and am now in a church where I am giving my testimony and sharing with others the hope that they too can find peace and deliverance from the chains that have them bound! Praise the name of Jesus!
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What a glorious testimony! Thank you so much, Calli, for sharing it and encouraging countless others. Transformed lives like Calli’s are living proof that the word of His grace is the power of God unto our salvation. When we know God’s love and grace toward us, we overcome whatever the enemy throws at us. Instead of hiding from God, we run to Him Who is our help, and we find grace and strength to come out of the darkest pit, to become shining testimonies of God’s goodness.
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Knowing God’s love for you makes you strong. It makes a champion out of you. The book of Daniel tells us that “the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits” (Dan. 11:32). Daniel himself started out as a young captive taken from Jerusalem to serve in the courts of Babylonian and Medo-Persian kings. Yet Daniel stood out among his peers. Over his lifetime he interpreted dreams by the wisdom of God and demonstrated an “excellent spirit” people around him could see (see Dan. 6:3). He always found favor in the eyes of the Gentile kings he served and experienced supernatural deliverance when there seemed to be no way out. Daniel walked out of the lion’s den unharmed, because he knew his God, His power, and His heart for him.
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Dear reader, is this what you desire today—to walk in strength, wisdom, and favor that is undeniable and irresistible? Do you desire to see the God-kind of miracles and breakthroughs in your life? Then I encourage you to keep hearing and growing in your knowledge of God’s grace and mercy toward you. In Daniel’s story, the Lord, through an angel, addressed him as a “man greatly beloved” (Dan. 10:11). So the more you hear about and are confident in His love for you, the more you will live life with boldness and a different, excellent spirit that sets you apart from others and testifies of His power in your life.
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Consider also young David, the shepherd boy who was bold enough to challenge and take down Goliath when others were cowering in fear. David knew God as a covenant-keeping God Who loved him. David would have been reminded of God’s love for him every time he heard his own name, for David’s name means “beloved,” the beloved of the Lord. I believe David became such an amazing worshiper, a leader beloved by His people, and a man after God’s own heart because he knew and was conscious of how much the Lord loved him. Even when David failed, I believe it was his revelation that he was still beloved of the Lord that kept him going. Beloved, when you know how much God loves you, you will bring down the giants in your life, and your life will testify of His goodness and glory!
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Can I give you one more example? Do you remember Gideon, who saw himself as least in his family and who was threshing wheat in a winepress for fear of being seen by the Midianites? We read his story in the book of Judges and see how he overcame his insecurities and fears and singlehandedly saved Israel from the Midianites, because he first heard gracious, encouraging words from the Angel of the Lord: “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!… Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man” (Judg. 6:12, 16). When he began to see how the Lord saw him, and believed that the Lord was with him and for him, he fulfilled his destiny!
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If, like Gideon, you feel small and powerless in the face of your challenges, I encourage you to keep hearing how because of Jesus’ sacrifice and finished work, nothing can separate you from God’s love. I want you to know right now that He has already made you more than a conqueror in Christ (see Rom. 8:37–39). When you know who you are in Christ and believe in God’s love for you, you will become strong and you will see God do great things in and through you. When you know that God is with you and for you, who or what can stand against you (see Rom. 8:31)? You will surely win the fights of life and live out the amazing destiny God has prepared for you!
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My dear friend, do you have a revelation of God’s personal
love for you today? His love has to be experienced in your
heart. Head knowledge—just knowing intellectually that God
loves you because He loves everyone—isn’t going to cut it. It
is when you really encounter the person of Jesus and His
grace, and really know in your heart that He loves you, that
positive and profound changes begin to happen in your life.
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Is there a scriptural basis for saying this? Yes, there is. The Bible tells us clearly, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Pet. 1:2). The word for “knowledge” here is the Greek epignosis, which refers to a heart experience of what and Who God is, rather than mere intellectual knowledge of facts about Him. It is a knowledge that is gained through an intimate and personal relationship with God.1 In other words, when you hear and hear until you know in your heart that the Lord loves you and is for you, you will experience His unmerited favor and supernatural peace in the area of your challenge. That is when you will find His strength, wisdom, and supply multiplied
tangibly in your life.
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John, the apostle of love, wrote, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10 KJV). I pray that as you continue to read the word of His grace in this book and listen to messages of His great grace, you will come to truly know the Lord’s love for you and embrace it heart and soul. His love will make you strong and cause you to do great exploits!
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