female announcer: Today
with Joseph Prince. Joseph Prince: Your marriage
is to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just to satisfy
each other's needs, because that becomes
a very small world, and you'll be frustrated with each other,
because there's no way, even how much love you have,
without a higher purpose, that marriage becomes natural,
amen. Your career,
if you're not building your career on Christ,
focused on the glory of Christ, I'm telling you
it becomes empty. You wake up with a feeling
of futility in everything, frustrated. Don't spend your best years
pursuing small ambitions, people. You were created
for greater things. Jesus gave us
the power of attorney. It doesn't matter if I'm poor. If he gave--if a rich man
gave me the power to sign off in his name,
it's not how rich I am, it's how rich the person
I represent is, okay? So Jesus said, "All power
is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore." That's the power of attorney. You're not going in your power,
you're not going in your wisdom, you're not going
in your strength, you're not going
in your provision. You are going sponsored
by Jesus Christ our Lord who has all power. [music] [congregation applauding] Joseph Prince: Praise God. Greetings, church. Grace, mercy, and peace be
with all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you all ready to see more
and more of your Lord Jesus? What's gonna happen
when you see more of Jesus? The Bible says grace,
which is unearned, undeserved favor,
will be multiplied in your life, amen? You will find yourself being
at the right place at the right time. You'll find good doors
of opportunities opening to you. You'll find that doors
that the devil has designed to put you in a place
where you'll be defeated, where you will be even,
you know, something bad happening or what,
God will shut that door, when the favor of God
abounds in your life. Only God, no matter
how intelligent you are and how accomplished you are
and how many degrees do you have to your name
and you know, it doesn't really matter at the end of the day,
the Lord is to be our shepherd. We are just to be sheep
and when we follow him, guess what? When the Lord is your shepherd,
you will not lack. You will not want. By all means study,
by all means pursue the highest levels of learning
if you want to. Yes, be diligent. Always make sure
that you work for the honor and glory of our God,
but remember this: health comes from the Lord,
success comes from the Lord, promotion does not come
from the East or the West, the Bible says,
or from the South, and that's all it says,
which means it comes from the North. It's God that promotes. God demotes, God promotes. When we realize that,
it really doesn't matter, all right, where our life
is heading, as long as we are following the Lord. Sometimes it seems like
there's no results for a while, and we are wondering
what's happening. You look at your colleagues,
you look at your friends, you envy them, all right? You look at their houses,
and I say "houses" on purpose. You look at their cars
that they drive and you think that, wow,
you know, how I wish that I can have that lifestyle,
but you do not know how poor they are. Like I said before,
they are poor people with plenty of money. You do not know the struggles
they go through, the sleepless nights,
and the depression that they are experiencing,
and here you are, enjoying the peace,
the grace being multiplied. Not only grace multiplied,
the Bible says peace will be multiplied in the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus in his high priestly
prayer said to the Father, "To know you--"
and for the first time Jesus used his earthly name
and the title together. "To know you and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent." That is real life. To know him, amen? You know, the first mention
in the Bible is very important on any subject. When the Bible mentions
a subject for the first time, there is something significant. And the first mention of love
in the Bible is in Genesis 22 when God told Abraham
to offer his son, his only son, the son that he loved, amen,
and all the while God did not want a human sacrifice,
of course, amen. And God spared Isaac,
Abraham's son. The whole picture there
in the chapter is actually God talking
about the time will come when he will give up his Son,
his only Son, the Son that he loved,
for us all. So the first mention of love is
the love of a Father for the Son. You might be experiencing--
you know, you might have experience
or are currently experiencing, you know, the challenge
with your father, for example, and you might not understand
the Father's love, God the Father's love. But God wants you to know
that even if your earthly father, all right,
put you aside, God wants to love you
with a father's love, amen? And the first love,
the first mention of love, is Father's love for the Son. It is the Father's love
for our Lord Jesus Christ. When you know how much
the Father loves Jesus, then you know how much
God loves you, because God gave up Jesus
for you, amen. The thing is this, church,
all right, when we start pursuing
and spending our energies, our health,
the best years of our life, our time, we sacrifice
even our family, all right, to pursue things like money,
all right, your ambition is too small. You were not created
for things like this. You were created
to enjoy God's love, amen. To flourish in that love,
to grow in that love, to know about love in the way
God wants you to know it, and then you find your life
becomes fulfilled. And God is not against you
having money, all right? In fact, when you pursue
the Lord Jesus, money pursues you. And money pursues you,
not for you to be materialistic but for you to use it
to be a blessing to many, because the poor cannot
help the poor, amen? Money makes a good servant
but a lousy master, okay? So remember this. You were created
for greater things. Are you ready for God's Word? All right, I wanna tell you
something, okay? Today I wanna share with you
something that is so glorious, remember this when you read
your Bible, all right, the Old Testament, all right,
is actually the New Testament hidden. The New Testament is actually
the Old Testament open. So you'll find when God
gave us the book, all right, God knew how he designed
the book. I believe in the verbal plenary
inspiration of the Scriptures. I believe every part
is God-breathed. And when God gave it to us,
God meant for us to study. It's the only thing
that we can touch and feel this side of heaven,
from heaven, from God himself. And you can see every time,
you know, someone deviates from Scripture,
their life is messed up. Some even die prematurely,
all right? God never meant for us
to live life, God never meant for men to grow old even,
all right? We know that God never meant
for man to die. The Bible calls death--
God calls death an enemy. Just as God hates sin,
God hates the wages of sin which is death. God never meant for anyone
to die, but the wages of sin-- man sinned against God
and brought death. So when you study the Bible,
you are studying, all right, the book that's designed
for your success in every area of your life,
amen. There is one place in the Bible,
it's so interesting when I first discovered this. That it says that God spoke
to Moses from above the mercy seat, you know,
the ark of the covenant, all right, that is found,
that holy furniture that's found in the Holy of Holies,
is the only furniture that's found
in the Holy of Holies, and for those who know,
all right, that furniture is a picture
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The only time in the Bible
that says that God spoke from above the mercy seat
and gave instructions to Moses is the passage
we are about to read. Are you ready for that? You know, in the book
of Leviticus, for example, God spoke to Moses
from out of the tabernacle. Another time, God spoke to Moses
from the top of Mount Sinai. God spoke to other people
in other places, but the only time
that God spoke, I can call it the word
from the Holy of Holies. The only time God spoke
from above the mercy seat, it must be very important
instructions, all right? So chapter 7 of Numbers
ends like this: "And when Moses was gone
into the tabernacle of the congregation
to speak with him, then Moses heard the voice
of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat,
God's throne, that was upon the ark of testimony,
from between the two cherubim: and God spoke to him." Now we come to Numbers
chapter 8, verse 1. So in other words,
Numbers 8, verse 1, is telling you what God spoke
from the Holy of Holies. Would you like to hear? Okay, remember this. There are a lot of details
that God gives in the types. Say types. Types means figurative symbols
that illustrate the essence, the truth. For example,
the lamb that they killed on the night of the Passover
is a picture of the true Lamb of God,
our Lord Jesus Christ, the anti-type, all right? So we study the type,
we understand clearer the substance, the anti-type. And guess what God spoke
from off the mercy seat, from the Holy of Holies? Chapter 8, verse 1:
"And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron
and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps,
the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick." Next, "And Aaron did so;
he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick,
as the Lord commanded Moses. And this work of the candlestick
was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof,
unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work:
according to the pattern, which the Lord showed Moses,
so he made the candlestick." Let me show you a picture
of the candlestick, or the lampstand, all right? From now on
I will interchangeably use the word lampstand
or menorah, all right? We are a church that understands
some Hebrew, amen, all right? Today when you go to Israel,
you will find this everywhere in souvenir shops and even
in the Jewish shops everywhere. You'll find it displayed
in every house, Jewish household,
you will have this menorah that they will light
every Shabbat or every Saturday they'll light it up, all right? And this came from the time
of Moses, all right? There's a seven branch
which for the most part, covers the Old Testament,
and there's a nine branch which is during the time
of Jesus and there's a reason for that as well. But seven branch is what
we are focused on today. And church, this candlestick,
notice, is out of beaten work. Look at the last verse
or verse 4 just now: "This work of the candlestick
was of beaten gold." It is solid gold. It is made of one solid slab
of gold. It is not wood
and then overlaid. It is solid gold. And it's one slab. It is not like the branches
you see are not inserted. They're all pounded
and hammered into shape, from one solid--
one talent of solid gold. And by the way, the tree
that you see is the almond tree, so what you can say,
the menorah is actually a golden almond tree. Now, almond is very interesting,
all right? The almond tree
is the first tree to bear fruit after winter, of all the trees. And God designed it that way. Of all the trees, the almond
tree is the first one to bear fruit after winter. It speaks of life out of death. It's a picture
of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ
who arose from the dead, amen. So what you see on the menorah
is almond right at the top. You see seven almonds. Now, the center shaft--
the center shaft is called the candlestick
in the King James, all right? The center shaft is a picture
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The tree branch on your right,
the tree branch on the left, speaks of all of us, amen. And the entire thing speaks
of the Lord Jesus Christ and also the church,
because the church is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you listening, church? "Now, why am I studying this,
Pastor Prince?" You're studying this
because God spoke these words from the Holy of Holies,
from above the mercy seat, and there's something
he wants us to learn, okay? So the center shaft
is the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. And the other branch
on the right and on-- or the branches on the right
and left, they are you and I. Now, each branch plus
the center one, but each branch on the sides,
they have a bud, they have a flower,
and they have a fruit. And the fruit is almond fruit,
okay? On this side,
every branch has a bud, has a flower,
and has a almond fruit. But the center shaft
that represents our Lord Jesus Christ has a bud,
has a flower, has an almond fruit,
and another almond fruit. Two almond fruits,
because he stands in a class of his own. How many understand that? So the instruction from
the Holy of Holies is awesome. Go back to Numbers 8. God is saying, verse 1 and 2,
God said, "Speak unto Aaron." Now, who is Aaron? Aaron is the high priest
of Israel at that time, the first high priest. Now, who is
our high priest today? Our Lord Jesus,
except that Aaron never had the title our Lord has. Aaron was never called
the Great High Priest, our Lord was. He's the Great High Priest. But you can learn
from the types. He is a type,
so we can understand the anti-type and see what God
wants from us, amen? Because I'm telling you,
when you order your life in such a way that you're
in perfect alignment with God, it's like a river going
the same direction. Everything flows in your life,
amen. Now, what did God say? "Tell the high priest,
When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light
over against the candlestick." In other words, over against
is the face in Hebrew, panim, all right? Over against the candlestick. What is it saying? It's telling you
the three branches on the right and on the left, okay,
when you light them, their light must face
the center shaft, which is a picture
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at this picture, all right,
of the top-down view. Can you see it? The three branches,
the light is pointing to the center,
and the one over here, the three branches is pointing
back to the center. Can you see that? That tells us that the Lord
is telling us and this is a message
from the Holy of Holies, people. In other words,
it is a message of message. It is instruction
of instruction. The most important God--
God wants you to know is this: Everything you do is to bring
glory to the center shaft, the Lord Jesus Christ. Your life, whatever blessing
God gives you, the light, and the revelation is to bring
light to the center shaft, the Lord Jesus Christ. Can I have a good amen? You know, your marriage
is to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just to satisfy
each other's needs, because that becomes
a very small world, and you'll be frustrated
with each other, because there's no way,
even how much love you have, without a higher purpose,
that marriage becomes natural, amen. Your career,
if you're not building your career on Christ,
focused on the glory of Christ, I'm telling you
it becomes empty. You wake up with a feeling
of futility in everything, frustrated. Don't spend your best years
pursuing small ambitions, people. You were created
for greater things. So God wants your light to bring
light to the center shaft, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, sit back
and watch this video and notice especially
how the lights, all the six branches,
bring light to the center shaft. Watch. Joseph Prince: As we look
at the golden menorah, okay, the light, can you see? The wick dip into the oil
and they're all pointing to the center. The one on the right points
to the center, the one on the left
points center, okay? Praise the Lord. Joseph Prince: Every church,
every ministry, the true test, the genuine test
of any ministry, is whether it brings glory,
honor, to the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, there are
seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation. We have people asking questions
about the seven churches in the book of Revelation. Well, there are many things
for us to talk about, all right? Whatever we know about
the seven churches, it can be interpreted
as the seven historical age of the church history,
all right, there are seven churches
down through church history, as such, seven,
the number's symbolic. Of course, there are
more churches, local, but I'm talking
about symbolic number. Or it can also refer
to the local churches during the time the book
of Revelation was written. Both are right. But more importantly, all right,
it is knowing what the lampstand is there for. Watch this. In Revelation 1,
John had a revelation. Would you like to go to heaven
and have a revelation and see heaven? See what John saw,
John the beloved. What did he see, all right,
in heaven? "Then I turned to see
the voice," John talking, "that spoke with me. And having turned
I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst
of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man,
clothed with a garment down to the feet
and girded about the chest with a golden band." The seven lampstands--
he saw seven lampstands which later on,
the Lord himself said, "The seven lampstands
are the seven churches," amen. And what do you find
in the center, in the midst of the seven lampstands? Here is not the seven branch,
all right, menorah, but it's actually each branch
is a lampstand by itself. And yet, in the center
you find the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. Go back to Numbers 8. God says,
"So when you light the lamp, the seven lamps shall give light
over against the candlestick." Now, I'm gonna show you
the New King James Version. It says here:
"When you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light
in front of the lampstand." Same idea, but I don't like
the New King James because the word arrange
is misleading. It is not the word arrange. Literally, in Hebrew,
it is the word light. When you light. But I like the second part. It says in front
of the lampstand. It's clearer. Are you with me? Your life, your ministry,
pastors, leaders, your church, your local church,
everything that we do is to point and bring glory
to the Lord Jesus Christ, amen, church? What happens when you do that? Well, life takes on
a whole new meaning. Power comes into your life. Remember the early church? Peter and John,
they were on their way to the temple,
and the Bible says: "At the Gate Beautiful
there was a man lame from his mother's womb
who never had walked. Since he was born,
he never had walked, and you know, Peter went to him,
Peter and John, and it says, you know,
he asked for money. He asked alms, all right? And this is what Peter did. Peter said, "Silver and gold
I have none, but such as I have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk." Church, if you are
the bride of Christ, and he's our bridegroom,
know this, you have the power of attorney. You can use your husband's name. In fact, you can have
a supplementary card, in case you didn't know, amen. You can sign off in your
husband's name, hallelujah. Whatever your husband has,
you have. Some ladies are going amen! Whatever he has, you have. And you know, Jesus gave us
the power of attorney. It doesn't matter if I'm poor. If he gave--if a rich man
gave me the power to sign off in his name,
it's not how rich I am, it's how rich the person
I represent is, okay? So Jesus said, "All power
is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore." That's the power of attorney. You're not going in your power,
you're not going in your wisdom, you're not going in your
strength, you're not going in your provision. You are going sponsored
by Jesus Christ our Lord who has all power. So, Peter and John look
at the lame man who never had walked and says,
"In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth." Learn to use that, all right? Your child is sick,
learn to rebuke that fever in the name of Jesus, amen. You can even curse
that pimple on your face in the name of Jesus,
all right? Use the name. It's been given to you, amen? Are you with me? So he say, "In the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him
by the right hand and lifted him up. Say "lifted him up." Just think of that phrase,
"lifted him up." We will come back to that again. "And immediately
his feet and ankle bones received strength." Verse 8: "And he leaping up
stood, and walked, entered with them
into the temple, walking, and leaping,
and praising God. And all the people saw him
walking and praising God. And they knew that it was he
who sat for alms at the Beautiful gate
of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement
at that which had happened unto him." Next, "And as the lame man
which was healed held Peter and John,
all the people ran together unto them in the porch
that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it,"
in other words, they were admiring Peter and John like,
wow, Superman has come down, or Ironman also, you know? And they were looking at them
like they're some special, you know, person, all right? But "When Peter saw that,
he answered to the people, Ye men of Israel,
why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye
so earnestly on us, as though by our own power
or holiness we had made this man to walk?" Sometimes there's an impression
given in some ministries that are miraculous, you know? We have that in our church
as well. We have people healed
of cancers, we have people healed
of terminal diseases, but remember this,
it is the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, all right? It is his power, his glory. We may pray and a healing
happens in front of our eyes, but remember this. It is not the holiness
of the man praying, amen. It is not the power
of that lady praying. It is the name of the one
she represents. So Peter was looking at them,
"Hey, guys, why are you looking at us as if our own power
or holiness made this man walk?" Wow, these lamps,
they were shining brightly on the center shaft. They would bring glory to Jesus. They refused the praises of men. They didn't camp around there
and say, "Yo, man, look at this. C'mon, take a good look at this. Look at this." No, they were very careful
not to take the glory. "So why look on us as though
it's our power, our holiness?" The next phrase:
"The God of Abraham," he told them, "and of Isaac,
and of Jacob, the God of our fathers,
has glorified his Son Jesus." Wow, these lamps
were shining brightly, and bringing light and glory
to the center shaft, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen? Do you see that? That's a message
of the Holy of Holies, people. God wants your life, your gifts,
whatever it is that is in your life, to bring glory
to Jesus Christ, amen? See, these guys, they were not
out to make themselves popular. They were not out
to exalt themselves, they were not out
to exalt one another or somebody else or whatever. They are here to exalt one name:
the Lord Jesus Christ. [music] announcer: Next
on Joseph Prince. Joseph Prince: The way
God causes you when you are burned out, depressed,
no more shining brightly, he doesn't knock you
down further, he doesn't condemn you,
he lifts you up. The ministry of the disciples
are like Jesus's ministry, they lift up. Jesus loved to lift people up. I love the scene
in "Passion of the Christ," the movie, where the woman
came crawling, the woman caught in adultery, remember,
to his feet, and the next thing,
she looked up, she saw his beautiful face like this,
stretching his hand. He's always lifting up. [music] Joseph Prince: Dear friends, thank
you for watching. Be sure to hit subscribe if
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