Destined To Reign by Joseph Prince Ch 17 pgs. 222-224

The Exchange of Covenants at Mt. Sinai
In Exodus 19:18, the Jewish people in prideful arrogance told God that they were able to obey everything He would ask of them. That is when God exchanged the Abrahamic covenant of grace for a covenant of works manifested in the Ten Commandments. They no longer wanted judged according to His goodness, but rather wanted to be judged based on their own performance. Throughout their journey out of Egypt, God protected them and met their every need. Despite their murmuring He blessed them. Now due to their boastful self-righteousness they would be blessed or cursed according to the law. The people did not understand that they would be accountable for all 10 commandments, breaking one made them guilty of all. Immediately after pledging to uphold the 10 commandments, they broke the very first one! “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” Instead of obeying, the Israelis fashioned a golden calf and worshiped it as their god. From that point on every murmuring and complaint resulted in death. Under the covenant of law, their blessings depended on their perfect obedience, and every failure and sin would result in judgment and punishment. No longer did they receive from God’s goodness, faithfulness, or grace. That is why the law of Moses is called the ministry of death and condemnation. It is an inflexible standard. Yet, still today their are believers wanting their efforts submitted to the law.

Destined To Reign by Joseph Prince Ch 17 pgs 217-222

Picture of Pure Grace
From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is all about Jesus and His finished work at the cross. New Testament preachers tell us what’s right with us because of what Jesus has done, in spite of our struggles and shortcomings. Old Testament preachers remind us of our sins. They seldom acknowledge when the Ten Commandments were enforced and when they were not. For example, when God liberated His people from Egypt He had not yet sent the Ten Commandments. God performed many signs and wonders for them, and still they murmured and complained. Even so, none of them died. He showed them pure grace. They complained when they approached the Red Sea, afraid of the Egyptian army. God’s response – He split the waters allowing them to cross and then drowned the army behind them. They complained about bitter water. God’s response – He sweetened the water. They complained of hunger. God’s response – He dropped bread from heaven. Each time they complained God blessed them with abundance, not because of their actions or attitudes, but because of His goodness and kindness. He loved them through the Abrahamic covenant, a covenant of grace.

Destined to Reign by Joseph Prince Ch 16 pgs 213-217

It is all about unveiling Jesus
There is no greater reward than to know we have opened people’s eyes to see more of Jesus, His grace, His beauty, and the perfection of His work. The church’s main purpose is to make Jesus the central part of its focus. You cannot separate Jesus and grace. The Bible says, “the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. When you preach grace, you make everything of Jesus and nothing of man. Man’s flesh doesn’t like that. It wants to earn anointing by its own works of fasting, praying, giving, etc. Works of the flesh will not earn you grace. It’s all about the finished work of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught that an entrance to heaven required a higher righteousness than even the Pharisees. He wasn’t saying that we must live under a stricter regiment than they. He was saying that the only way to enter heaven is to have HIS righteousness, that exceeds all other standards of righteousness. HIS righteousness is a gift to be freely received! To be a person after God’s heart all you must do is make Jesus, His finished work, and Hid grace the center of every aspect your life. Then the fullness of His blessings will flow in your life!