These are notes on the sermon, The Key To Victorious Living, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 30 May 2021, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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When God’s Word goes forth, God is glorified and you are helped, healed, delivered, and transformed. God’s Word will not return to Him void (Isa. 55:11).
Every time you tune in and lean in to the rhema word (timely word in season) that God has for you, you are possessing more and more of your promised land. There remains yet very much land to be possessed (Josh. 13:1 ESV).
There are areas in our daily lives where we are not possessing all that God has for us, and we may not even realize it.
We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3). But the Word also tells us that in the same heavenly places, there is spiritual warfare going on that hinders us from possessing all our blood-bought blessings (Eph. 6:12).
The devil doesn’t want us possessing our possessions but he is a defeated foe. This means we don't have to fight him. Our fight is a fight of faith (believing), and part of our warfare is to realize that the devil is already defeated. The onus is not on us to defeat him because he was already defeated 2,000 years ago at the cross.
It is imperative that we know what our weapons in this warfare are. Ephesians 6:14–16 lists the full armor we have, like the breastplate of righteousness, loins girt with truth, feet shod with the gospel, and the shield of faith.
One of the devil’s tactics is to cause us to react to situations based on our experiences, efforts, or religious works—never out of faith. He knows that the moment we walk in faith, he has lost.
Our fight is a fight of faith. We don’t fight for victory, we fight from the victory Jesus Christ has already won for us.
Today, we are going to talk about possessing victory in the area of our flesh (the part of us that is prone to sin).
As born-again believers, there are times we still see our old tendencies, actions, and behaviors that are not Christ-like manifesting in our lives.
Sometimes these sinful thoughts and tendencies may even come when we are praying or spending time with the Lord. In these moments, we can feel bad and even shocked that we can experience these bad thoughts and feelings when we are engaging in a spiritual activity.
For some of us, the stirrings of the flesh hit right after a great victory, and it suddenly seems like we are descending into defeat again. We get discouraged and think to ourselves, “I thought I had gotten over this.”
Today the Lord has an answer for how to deal with the manifestations of the flesh in our daily lives.
There are two sides to redemption:
When we understand the difference between the two and learn how to apply them in our lives, we will begin to live victoriously.
The difference between redemption by blood and redemption by power can be seen in the story of the children of Israel leaving Egypt in the book of Exodus.
Redemption by blood:
The children of Israel in Egypt were protected from the destroyer because of the lamb’s blood on their doorposts and lintel. Despite their sins, God redeemed them because of the blood of the lamb.
The blood of the lamb is a picture of the blood of Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God.
His blood has cleansed us from every sin (1 John 1:7 YLT) and through the blood, we are protected, blessed, healed, and we receive all the blessings of God.
The foundation of our redemption is the blood of Jesus Christ. But in our daily lives, there is an outworking of that redemption and that is seen through God’s redemption by power.
Redemption by power:
Previously, we saw how God redeemed the children of Israel by the blood of the lamb. Here, we are about to witness how God redeemed them by power.
When we read God’s Word, we need to know that every story, every word, and every type in it was written for our benefit. All the things that happened in the Old Testament are “types” that hold significant meaning for us today (1 Cor. 10:11 DARBY).
Let’s look at the story of the children of Israel at the point they are about to cross the Red Sea. At this point, they had experienced protection from the destroyer because of the blood of the lamb (redemption by blood), and they had come out of Egypt with “none feeble” among their tribes (Ps. 105:37 KJV).
Yet this “high” only lasted a few days. Shortly after the children of Israel left Egypt, they found themselves pursued by Pharaoh and his armies to the brink of the Red Sea. So even though the children of Israel had been redeemed by blood, their enemies were still around, and the children of Israel still needed to be redeemed (saved) from them.
Likewise for us, even though we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, the true Lamb of God, we still see our enemies in our daily lives. We still experience the sinful stirrings of the flesh. How do we deal with them?
Through the story of the children of Israel at the Red Sea, we see the solution to our troubles: God’s redemption by power.
The answer to overcoming our enemies is not to try to do so by our own effort but by trusting in God’s redemptive power.
Today, even though we have been saved by the blood of Jesus and we are a new creation in Christ, the flesh still remains in us. The flesh is the part of us that is susceptible to sinful stirrings and tendencies.
“So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
— Romans 8:8–9 NKJV
“you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit” — Yes, the flesh dwells in all of us. But the truth is if you have put your faith in Christ, you are now in the Spirit and no longer in the flesh even though the flesh remains in you.
This means that we are to see our flesh, our sinful tendencies, apart from who we are in Christ Jesus.
While we still struggle with the flesh, the Lord has also provided us with a solution to have victory over it in our daily lives.
The apostle Paul himself also struggled with his flesh:
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing . . . For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”
— Romans 7:18–20 KJV
Paul makes a clear distinction between himself and his flesh. Child of God, don’t go through a long series of experiences and periods of wandering only to discover that in your flesh dwells no good thing. The Bible already tells us that in our flesh dwells no good thing. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you can begin to live out the life that Christ Jesus has purchased for you at the cross.
Even when the flesh wants to do good and perform a noble deed, it still remains the flesh. It is a form of self-righteousness. The flesh takes pride in the good that it does. The flesh also feels frustrated when it does bad. The flesh is completely self-occupied.
The Christian life is all about being Christ-occupied. When you discover this revelation, everything changes.
Today as a born-again believer, you are no longer the old man born of Adam. You are born again in Christ Jesus and when you behold Him and all that He is today, you catch a glimpse of your true identity in Him.
Because of the cross, our lives are now wrapped in Christ’s. He is our life (Col. 3:4 KJV)! And as He is, so are we in this world today (1 John 4:17).
We see in Ephesians 5:30 that God has also ordained Jesus’ body to be made up of many members—of His flesh and of His bones.
Today we are not just one with Jesus in the Spirit but we are also one with Him in the flesh, which refers to our physical bodies. This means if you are facing a health challenge, look at Jesus. At the Father’s right hand, He is at the peak of physical health. As He is, so are you because you are one with Him!
That is why in John 15:5, Jesus explains that He is the vine and we are the branches. It is not the responsibility of the branch to bear fruit on its own; it simply does so when it is attached to a healthy vine. All we need to do to bear much fruit in our lives is to rest and remain attached to Him—the true vine. As you remain attached to the vine, all of its life flows into you. It is also the responsibility of the gardener to tend to the vine and its branches, and this is a picture of our heavenly Father who tends to us (John 15:1 KJV).
You are one with Jesus, child of God. Jesus is your true identity today.
“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”
— 1 John 4:17 NKJV
“as He is, so are we in this world” — Where is Jesus today? He is seated at the right hand of God, glorified and victorious. We do not have to do anything to make ourselves one with Jesus. In the eyes of the Father, we are already one with Him. We are seated with Christ at the right hand of God.
God sees reality like no one else. What we deem as reality is dependent on what we can see, touch, and feel with our five senses. But our five senses can only tell us what is real at this moment—it is a temporal reality. But God sees the eternal truth: He sees you seated with Christ at His right hand.
You will never know how much God loves you until you know how much the Father loves the Son. Did you know you are not just deeply loved by the Father, but also accepted and highly favored by Him?
“wherein he hath made us accepted (‘charitoo’ — highly favored) in the beloved.”
— Ephesians 1:6b KJV
“accepted” — This is the Greek word ‘charitoo,’ which means highly favored. It is the same word used to describe Mary, who was chosen to be the earthly mother of Jesus (Luke 1:28).
“in the beloved” — Your heavenly Father wants you to know you are not just “accepted in Christ” but “accepted in the beloved.” He wants you to know you are loved and highly favored, and you have the right to feel this way.
At the same time, it can be difficult to reconcile this identity we have in Christ with our sinful stirrings and tendencies. How do we overcome them?
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
— Galatians 2:20 KJV
Your sins are what you have done and what you do. At the cross, Christ didn’t just die for our sins, but He died as us. As far as God is concerned, you (your old self whose flesh dwells no good thing) have been crucified with Christ at the cross.
“I live by the faith of the Son of God” — Whenever you feel weak in faith, remember this: you are resting in the faith of the Son of God, who loved you and gave Himself for you. It is not about your own faith, but about Jesus’ faith carrying you through.
Pastor Prince shares a testimony from a woman from the United Kingdom whose child had been diagnosed with autism at birth. After hearing about the power of proclaiming, “As Jesus is, so am I in this world” (1 John 4:17) through Pastor Prince’s sermons, she too started praying and declaring this truth over her child. Today, her child is excelling in school and doing what the doctors said he could never do.
If you have been diagnosed with a condition and you find that medical science has no answers for it, don’t give up. Continue to behold Jesus. He is the answer. At the cross, He bore all of your sicknesses, pains, and diseases. Today, He is raised without all of them, seated at the right hand of Jesus. As He is, so are you in this world!*
This powerful statement, “As He is, so am I in this world,” is not just about our righteous standing in Christ but also includes our physical wellbeing.
Whatever condition you are facing, does Jesus have it? If He doesn’t, begin to declare it over yourself as well:
“As Jesus is healthy in His brain, so am I in this world.”
“As Jesus is free from high blood pressure, so am I in this world.”
“As Jesus is ______, so am I in this world.”
The Bible makes it clear that we are members of Jesus’ body, of His flesh and bones (Eph. 5:30). This means as Jesus is healthy in His flesh and bones, so are you in this world.
We begin to possess our possessions when we start to confess and declare this truth.
Pastor Prince shares another powerful testimony from a lady from Australia who had previously been diagnosed with fibroids and polyps in her womb. After listening to Pastor Prince’s teachings about the finished work of Jesus at the cross and the gift of righteousness, she decided to take God at His Word and claim God’s healing for her own body. After another procedure and scans to investigate her condition more thoroughly, the results showed that the growths were gone and she had been completely healed.
Let us begin to possess and own this reality: we have been made one with Christ Jesus. God sees us one with Christ—righteous, accepted, and highly favored.
In your daily walk with God, there are still times when you experience sinful stirrings and other effects of the flesh. The devil’s plot is to convince you in those moments that you are what you feel and what you experience. But that cannot be further from the truth.
The Bible does not say that we are to live our lives governed by how we feel. It says that we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).
Faith does not pretend the problem doesn’t exist. Faith acknowledges the problem but it compares it to what God’s Word says about it (because God’s Word will outlast every reality we may see in the present moment).
“knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise (in the same manner) you also, reckon (‘logizomai’) yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
— Romans 6:9–11 NKJV
You have died to sin once and for all at the cross. Death and judgment are not ahead of you but behind you. Today you stand on the other side of death. You stand in Christ risen.
“So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”
— Exodus 14:30 NKJV
As the story goes, God split the Red Sea for the children of Israel and they walked through it. When Pharaoh and his armies tried to pursue them, they were all drowned in the sea and their bodies were washed up on the other side, where the children of Israel could see with their own eyes that God had defeated their enemies for them.
Just as the children of Israel stood on the other side of the Red Sea, saved and rescued from the Egyptians who pursued them, we stand on the other side of the cross, our sins dead behind us.
See your enemies dead on the other side. Are you seeing what God is showing you or are you seeing what the devil is trying to project onto you?
While your sinful tendencies are still present and they may feel real, they are not the truth. Your feelings are not the barometer of truth.
“Likewise (in the same manner) you also, reckon (‘logizomai’) yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
— Romans 6:11 NKJV
“reckon” — This is the Greek word “logizomai,” and in Thayer’s definition, reckoning is not based on supposition but based on facts.
While our feelings and struggles may feel real, God’s Word is the truth, and it cannot be shaken. Your enemies have been put to death and made of no effect because of what Christ has done for you at the cross.
So how do you deal with the negative feelings when they come?
Just identify them as lies. Whether it is resentment, depression, lust, pride, or jealousy. Identify them as dead.
God’s Word is the truth, and God’s Word says they’re dead.
Let’s look at how the children of Israel saw their enemies before they crossed the Red Sea:
“So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.”
— Exodus 14:9–10 NKJV
“the children of Israel lifted their eyes . . . So they were very afraid” — The children of Israel were afraid because they saw Pharaoh and his armies alive and pursuing them. The Red Sea is a picture of the cross. You are not on that side of the cross anymore where your enemies are still alive. You have crossed over, and you are on the other side where you should be seeing the sinful stirrings and other outworkings of the flesh dead and of no effect.
That is the perspective the Lord wants you to have!
“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed (‘dikaioó’) from sin.”
— Romans 6:6–7 NKJV
“freed” — In the Greek, this is the word “dikaioó,” which is the same word used in Romans 5:1a, “Therefore, having been justified (‘dikaioó’) by faith.”
This means that even when the stirrings of the flesh come up, God sees you justified from that sin. He doesn’t count that sin on you.
This doesn’t make us want to indulge in that sin because no true child of God wants to indulge in sin. How can we who have died to sin live any longer in it (Rom. 6:2)?
By keeping a lookout for it, praying against it, or giving it importance in your life in any way, you’re saying that the flesh is alive when it is actually dead.
Just ignore it and leave it alone. When it stirs up, just say, “It’s a lie.” In that moment, take time to sense afresh that you are in Christ risen and don’t condemn yourself.
“for he that hath died is justified from sin.”
— Romans 6:7 ASV
Jesus has taken every sinful thought and tendency on your behalf at the cross. We have been justified from every sin through the finished work of Jesus!
Why do we still find failures of every sort in this area? It is because many of us are choosing to acknowledge our flesh as our identity instead of Christ as our identity.
The law presupposes strength in you although you have none in yourself. The only strength we have is through the cross, where Christ has been made our true strength today. In and of ourselves, we are weak. But it is in our weakness that Christ’s strength is revealed.
No matter how “advanced” you are in your Christian walk, the enemy will always try to get you to question your identity in Christ. Therefore, it is imperative that we continue to be established in this truth.
As real as they are, feelings and experiences will not sustain you in the long run.
“By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.”
— Hebrews 11:29 NKJV
“By faith they passed through the Red Sea” — As the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea, they had faith that the Lord would not let the waters cover them at any point in their journey. They did not pass through the Red Sea by experience because they had never experienced walking through any sea before.
“the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned” — In the Greek, the word “attempting” means “to try out by experience.” Pharaoh and his armies attempted to cross the Red Sea not by faith but by experience (e.g. they put one foot forward first and tested the ground, they kept checking if the sea looked like it would fall on them, etc.) and they drowned in the process.
On the other side of the Red Sea, the children of Israel looked back and saw how their enemies had all drowned behind them.
Whenever sinful temptations arise, see them from the perspective of being on the other side of the cross. They are defeated and dead!
It was not enough that the children of Israel were redeemed by the blood because their enemies were still present. If their enemies remained alive, the children of Israel would always live in fear of being killed or captured again.
God wanted to show His people how He redeems by power, which is why He made sure the dead bodies were washed up on the other side of the Red Sea where the children of Israel could witness their victory.
“So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”
— Exodus 14:30 NKJV
Today God wants us to see by faith that our enemies have already been defeated on the other side of the cross. The devil’s tactic is to make what has already been defeated seem real and more frightening than it really is.
To see this by faith is not to psych yourself to believe something that is not true. Seeing by faith is putting your trust in and resting in God’s infallible Word.
Being able to see your enemies dead is a hazon vision from the Lord!
Pastor Prince encourages us to pray the Ephesians 1 prayer daily, that we may know the exceeding greatness of God’s power that raised Christ from the dead (Eph. 1:19–20 KJV).
“ . . . who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,”
— Philippians 3:3 NKJV
In every trial, we can rejoice in Christ Jesus. This is our Christian posture today: We worship God in Spirit, we rejoice in Him, and we do not look at ourselves. Instead, our trust and confidence are placed in the Lord.
If you choose to put your trust in your flesh, you are negating what Christ has done for you at the cross. By doing so, you are also opening yourself up to the consequences of relying on the flesh.
We don’t need feelings to tell us that something is real. We believe that it is real because of the integrity of the person delivering the message. God is the One who is delivering this message and He is more than worthy of our trust!
“Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
— Romans 8:1–4 NASB
When you believe that Christ has condemned sin in your flesh, not in you, you will begin to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. You will also find that all the things you have tried to keep with your own efforts will become supernaturally effortless through the Spirit.
The righteousness of the law has been fulfilled in you by the Spirit, not by you.
Pastor Prince encourages us to continue declaring, “As Jesus is, so are we in this world.”
If you are experiencing constant headaches, declare this, “As Jesus is free from headaches, so am I in this world.” If you are trusting the Lord for favor, declare this, “As Jesus is highly favored, so am I in this world.”
As you go about your day throughout the week, continue to meditate on this powerful truth.
“Heavenly Father, I thank You that Christ died for my sins. I thank You that He took not only my sins, but also my old self, that bad self, that self that has no good thing, all away at the cross. And You raised Him from the dead without my sins, without my diseases. I thank You, Lord Jesus, that I am in Christ risen. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior.
Father, I thank You that I'm gloriously saved. I'm a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things have become new. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
“Father, I thank You for everyone under the sound of my voice. This coming week, Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Lord bless every single one of you with the blessings of father Abraham and the blessings of Deuteronomy 28. The Lord keep you and your families from harm, danger, from every sickness and disease, from the COVID-19 virus, and from the power of the evil one.
The Lord preserve you and cover you with His precious blood that He has redeemed you with. The Lord make His face to shine on you. See His smiling face on you. Israel always saw the hiding of His face in the Old Testament, but see His face smiling on you.
To see God's smiling face on you. To see God's face shining on you is to receive all the blessings, all the favor, and all the goodness of God. Amen. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be favorable to you this week. You will see the manifestations of His favor in your life. The Lord lift up His countenance on you and your families, and grant to you His shalom peace, well-being, and wholeness. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
As believers, there are times we still see sinful tendencies, actions, and behavior in our lives. Some of us are struggling with anger management. Some of us are battling addictions. And there are those of us who are overwhelmed by strong feelings of depression, lust, pride, or jealousy.
Friend, these are the stirrings of the flesh—the part of you that wants to sin—and the Lord wants you to experience victory over it.
Here are some things you can practice whenever you experience the flesh acting up in your daily life in the form of negative thoughts and feelings:
See yourself apart from your flesh
“So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
— Romans 8:8–9 NKJV
You are not your flesh. Just as a splinter lodged in your finger does not make you a piece of wood, so your flesh does not define your identity. So make a distinction between yourself and your flesh. The real you is in Christ risen—and in Christ you have been justified and made righteous forever.
See your flesh as it really is: DEAD
“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”
— Romans 6:6 NKJV
“So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”
— Exodus 14:30 NKJV
After the children of Israel had crossed over the Red Sea, God made sure the dead bodies of Pharaoh’s armies were washed up on the side of the sea where the children of Israel could see them. Why? Because it was important for them to recognize their enemies were dead and defeated for good!
In the same way, the Lord wants you to see your flesh defeated and dead. Today you stand on the other side of the cross of Jesus Christ, and behind you, your flesh has been crucified once and for all.
The more you see and believe this, the more you will experience victory over sin (Rom. 6:2).
Identify the stirrings of your flesh as lies, then ignore them
Sometimes your feelings will tell you that your flesh is alive and kicking. There are times you will still feel sinful urges and temptations. How do you respond?
Identify them as lies. While they may feel true in the moment, God’s Word declares that your flesh is dead. God’s Word is the everlasting truth. God’s Word is the truth that will outlast every contradictory “fact” that seems true in your life for the time being.
Once you’ve identified the destructive thoughts and feelings as lies, simply ignore them. They are not worth your time of day!
Sense God’s love for you
“wherein he hath made us accepted (‘charitoo’ — highly favored) in the beloved.”
— Ephesians 1:6b KJV
“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”
— 1 John 4:17 NKJV
When your flesh acts up, the natural response is to become inward-looking and self-conscious. This has caused many people to spiral into self-condemnation and further indulgence in sin.
Instead of looking inward, look at Jesus. He took your place of condemnation at the cross so that you can take His place of righteousness and belovedness today. As He is right now at the Father’s right hand, so are you in this world. As He is accepted, deeply loved, and highly favored by God, so are you!
Take time to sense the Father’s love for you.
If you or your loved one has a health concern or an existing medical condition, please do consult a qualified medical practitioner or healthcare provider. We would also advise you to ask and seek the Lord always for His wisdom and guidance regarding your specific health or medical issue, and to exercise godly wisdom in the management of your own physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Do not, on your own accord, disregard any professional medical advice or diagnosis. Please also do not take what has been shared in this sermon as permission or encouragement to stop taking your medication or going for medical treatment. While we make no guarantees and recognize that different individuals experience different results, we continue to stand in faith to believe and affirm God’s Word and healing promises with all who believe.
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2021
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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