You Can Come Through Victorious - Part 2 — Derek Prince

Derek Prince Ministries proclaiming the inspired word of God around the world. Derek Prince is an internationally recognized Bible teacher and author. Through books audios videos and radio broadcasts Derek seeks to reach the unreached and teach the untaught.

In over 50 years of ministry Derek has reached over 100 nations in more than 50 languages. And now Derek Prince.

Discipleship Requires Obedience and Sacrifice

Now I joined the British Army. Not by choice, but by compulsion on the 12th of September 1940. I happen to remember the date because it was my mother's birthday. Anyhow the two things they taught me with this.

That once an order is given it's in force until it's cancelled by someone with authority. Second ignorance of orders is no excuse for disobeying them and that is true in the army of God. I smile when God's people talk about being an army because they're so far from being an army.

Let me tell you one thing when I joined the British Army under King George the sixth I never got a little certificate signed by the King saying I guarantee you you will not have to lose your life. No soldier has ever joined an army on that basis.

And no soldier has a right to join the army of Jesus on that basis. It may cost you your life. Don't talk about being a soldier. If your motive is self-preservation. So let's read the words of Jesus.

Matthew 28 18 19 and 20 all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. It's important to know who has all authority. Not some authority, but all authority. It's all vested in one person. And his name is Jesus that's right.

So having said that Having cleared up the whole issue of authority once for all Jesus says go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you and lo I'm with you always to the end of the age. Now he said go and make disciples. Of how many nations. All nations are you sure. Have we done that by no means.

19 centuries have passed and we are still far from doing that. Then I want to point out to you that he did not say make church members. He said make disciples one of the biggest problems that we have in the church is members.

Who are members, but not disciples. Because by their lives they contradict the message that we bring. If you've never started a work for the Lord and you feel led to do so begin with disciples. Don't begin with members.

If you make disciples sooner or later the members will come along, but they are not primary. I really mean this. I think the greatest single problem of the church in America is that we've made members.

Who are not disciples. They tell me such-and-such a church has so many thousand members. I say that's wonderful. How many of them are disciples. A Disciple is one who is under discipline. A Disciple is one who has laid down his life.

Jesus said unless a man forsakes all that he has He cannot be my disciple. It's not it's difficult, but some succeed. It's impossible. That's what we're told to do you see our problem is disobedience.

We've not been following the commander's orders. Then it says baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit understand that. Properly practiced water baptism is a commitment to discipleship.

Water Baptism as an Urgent Commitment to Discipleship

And if people are not willing to be discipled and come under discipline and lay down their lives they shouldn't be baptized. Because they're going to be buried. And then they're going to be resurrected.

See. So Water baptism is as important in the New Testament as the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is a decisive step and It's urgent. Jesus said when going to all the world incidentally preach the gospel to every creature not just all nations every creature.

He who believes and is baptized will be saved. And I do not find a single instance in the New Testament from the day of Pentecost onwards that anybody ever claimed salvation without being baptized in water and I tell people if you say you're born again and I am I'm a believer in Jesus, but I've never been baptized by immersion.

I Say you're taking a risk. Because there's no guarantee in the New Testament that you are saved, right? I think you find it's right and Don't be in this line. Well, if you want to be baptized, we're having a baptismal service in two weeks.

Put your name down. That was not the attitude of the people in the New Testament when God Visited the house of the Philippian jailer and mind you he visited it in a powerful way with an earthquake. I'm sure he had the jailers attention.

When he and his family became believers they were all baptized that hour of the night they didn't wait for dawn. Water baptism is urgent. When Philip met the eunuch on the road to Gaza He got in the catch area.

The Bible says he preached to him. Jesus doesn't tell us he said anything about baptism. But when they passed a pool of water that it was the eunuch who said look here's water. What would prevent me to me be baptized?

And Philip didn't say well, you've got to memorize 53 scriptures and attend a biblical class. And if you pass at the end, I'll baptize you. You see I was with a mission that was a wonderful group of people.

But they wouldn't baptize anybody if they hadn't been in a baptismal class for six weeks. You know the result they were baptizing educated pagans. They'd been through the class, but they never been saved.

They just became religious. So remember. Water baptism isn't a step you take somewhere down the road. It's part of your salvation. On the day of Pentecost the unbelievers said what shall we do? Peter said repent number one number two let every one of you be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and 3 ,000 people were baptized in one day.

That takes a lot of hard work. If all the Apostles did the baptizing it must have taken several hours. But I'll tell you what it made an indelible impression upon the people of Jerusalem. This is what it means to become a believer in Jesus.

I have to go through the water. Then it says Teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you. So the real teaching process doesn't come before baptism. Comes after it when they've committed themselves to discipleship.

Then begin to train them, but don't train uncommitted people. Because it's a waste of time. I say all this from experience. I've seen the results both ways. In our well our in the Church that we attend in Fort Lauderdale Good News Church of which Ross knows quite a lot.

Scott I mean sorry we have a friend called Ross and I keep calling you Ross when I should be calling you Scott forgive me anyhow. We basically have the principle that if you want to get saved you repent you believe and you get baptized.

And they have a baptismal tank available. Every Sunday morning and most of the people that get baptized in water get baptized in the Holy Spirit. There was a time Before the church was really going. When the people used to come to our house on Sunrise Quay, and they'd get baptized.

In our swimming pool. Well, that's a good place to get baptized. And we had one couple they were just total pagans before they got saved. And we said you need to be baptized come to our house. And this dear precious lady came in a knitted bikini.

You know what I said, thank God we've got somebody who isn't religious. So we provided her with a cover-up and she got baptized. I was in a meeting many years later in I think Johannesburg in South Africa.

I was invited to speak to the B 'nai B 'rith. You know what they are this Jewish anti-definition organization and they began by giving my what is it Kursus Vitae my background etc etc. Because they wouldn't have invited me to tell them about Jesus.

But they wanted what they really wanted to know was why I believed in the prophecies of God for Israel. So I was trying to tell them this and in the middle of it two men sitting back lit up their cigarettes and I thought Wonderful to be in a place where people are not so religious.

They don't know that you can't smoke in church. I'll tell you what happened at the end the leader of that meeting was a Sabra that is he was an Israeli or a Jew born in Israel. But he'd gone out to Johannesburg to lead this organization.

And he had no religious language at all. But at the end he said While dr. Prince was talking there was something very Interesting here. It was kind of warm. It was kind of comforting. What was he talking about the comforter?

Oh What a privilege to talk to people who don't have all the language. I Wish we did it much more often. My problem is I hardly ever meet unconverted people. I Mean I say I see it's God's plan for my life.

But I can remember the good old days when I was in the British Army and all the people were around me were unconverted. Well, I better go on. No, I think what God wants me to tell this story some of you've heard it before but I ended up in the Sudan in a little Place it wasn't a town called Jebait on the Red Sea Hills overlooking the Red Sea.

I was a corporal at that time and I never got any higher. My wife who was in the Marines Marines, yes became a sergeant. So she outranks me. Anyhow, I was in charge of what they call the native labor.

That is the Sudanese and There was one man who was the Rai's the head of all the labor force and my business was to relate to him. I Was to see that he got the men doing the right thing. So for a little while and he was the only one that spoke English and he spoke English.

He'd learned from British soldiers, which is not exactly King James. But he was very intelligent very bright. So for quite a while we just met one another and talked about the jobs. And then somehow or other I discovered that he believed in the devil.

And I said, well, you know, I believe in the devil too. So that was our point of contact. We both believed in the devil. And a little later he came into my Store where I met him and he was late. And he said I'm sorry, but I had to go to the clinic.

I'm sick. Well, I had never prayed for anybody in my life. But I knew it was in the Bible. So I said would you like me to pray for you? He said yes, which just frightened me. So I said well, I'm going to pray in the name of Jesus.

He said that's alright. He was a Muslim. So treating him like a bomb that I was defusing. I Laid my hands on him prayed in the name of Jesus a week later. He came back said I'm perfectly well. Well after that I had his attention.

So I began to tell him well, I believe in Jesus and I read the Bible. Then another thing happened. I was in my billet and I got stung by a Sudanese Hornet. Well, I tell you Sudanese Hornets are in a class by themselves, it was the most agonizing thing I've ever felt.

I jumped off my bed With terrible pain and I thought to myself Jesus said you can tread on serpents and scorpions and they won't harm you. So I said well that should include even Hornets, so I walked up and down for about 10 minutes praising the Lord with this pain in my ankle, but it never swelled up.

So next morning, I met my friend Ali and I said, you know, I got stung by a Hornet last night. He said you were stung by a Hornet. Where so I pulled my stocking down and showed him. He took me to the door of the store and he showed me a man Limping across the compound with one knee up.

He said you know what happened to that man. He was stung by a Hornet in the knee. Well, I said, why didn't you get stung? Why didn't it happen to you? I said I prayed in the name of Jesus. Well by then I had his attention so I Began to read to him from the King James Version Translating it into soldiers English which is takes a certain amount of ingenuity and Then he said I want to teach you to ride a camel.

We were really good friends by that time. So I said, okay. Well, I discovered There's a peculiarity about camels. There's no part of a camel. That's always level. If one part is going up another is going down.

But I learned I mastered a camel and I know some of you probably been to Egypt and read those Written those tame creatures that they have at the the Sphinx. That's not even in the same league with a Sudanese camel.

So then we decided we'd take a little picnic. And I had access to the store so I could get a few things to eat and we set out on our camels Rode a certain distance and sat down at the at the base of a little hill and there was this brackish stream of water running down the hill and He said to me we Sudanese drink this water, but you white people don't.

Well, I said I'm prepared to drink it. He said how come when I said there's no other water. The Bible says if I drink any deadly thing in the name of Jesus, it will not hurt me. I drank it I had no problems.

So we had our meal together got on our camels and I read to him while we were there from John chapter 3 the first verses about being born again. Well this absolutely Fastened on his mind born again. He kept saying what does it mean to be born again?

Well, I said Means God gives you a new heart. Well, he burst out laughing. That was ridiculous. How could God give anybody a new heart? But I saw he was very much in earnest so I said now listen, would you like to be born again?

He said yes. Well, I said I didn't know what to do. I mean, I haven't been in any Bible school or theological college. So I said well listen. You go to your little hut. I'll go to my billet and at six o 'clock this evening when the Sun goes down.

You pray there and I'll pray in my billet. And you asked to be born again. So I met him next morning at 10 a .m. As usual. I looked at him. I said, did you pray? He said yes. I said did you get it? He said no and I was glad first of all that he he believed something was going to happen if it didn't happen.

He didn't get it and the Holy Spirit whispered to me. He's a Muslim. I Said did you pray in the name of Jesus? He said no. I Jesus are you willing to do that? He said yes, I Said six o 'clock this evening you pray.

I pray in my billet. I Met him next morning. I looked at him. I said you got it. He said I did and the whole staff of the hospital Knew within a week that Ali had been born again and my British soldier friends came to me and said what's happened to your friend Ali.

I said he's been saved. They said what's that? I said, let me tell you I started a Bible class With three British soldiers and before the end of the class ended two of them got saved because they saw what happened to a Muslim.

Now I didn't intend to say any of that. But anyhow, I ended up by baptizing him in the swimming pool of the hospital. So I did the complete job so far as I understood it. Listen, there are people all around us that really would like To know how to meet with God.

Proclaiming the Gospel to Every People and Language

Just Make up your mind. You're going to carry the good news of the kingdom wherever you go. All right. Don't be embarrassed. So don't be shy. One thing about my wife is she's not shy when I'm standing there listening.

She's talking to people about Jesus. And she has such a sweet smile on her face. They are always willing to listen. Okay. So that was talking about taking the gospel to all nations. And let me just show you a passage I've read once already here Revelation 7 verse 9 and 10.

This is part of the vision that John the Revelator had in heaven. And he said after these things I looked and behold a great multitude. Which no one could number of all nations tribes peoples and tongues.

Standing before the throne and before the Lamb. Clothed with white robes with palm branches in their hands crying out with a loud voice saying Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb and I pointed out already but it deserves emphasis they were from every people nation tribe and tongue and The age will not close Until there's at least one Representative from every nation people tribe and tongue.

Because God the Father Will honor his son Jesus for the sacrifice that he made and he will make sure that there's one representative at least from every ethnic group. Every language group that has received the sacrifice and is there to praise the Lamb.

So our job is not complete Until we've reached every people nation tribe and tongue. I'm not directly connected in any way with the Wycliffe translators, but I certainly support them. I Think they're taking God seriously when many People with more fancy titles are just playing religious games.

They are committed to get the scripture in the language of every language group on earth. Because of this verse it has to be What are you living for? All right. Now the third thing That God wants number one was he wants his kingdom to come to earth.

Number two, he wants the gospel to be preached to all nations. Number three very logical. He wants a people for his kingdom. Come up here sweetheart and we make a proclamation your favorite one. Titus chapter 2 verses 11 through 14.

Titus 2 11 through 14. Are you there? The grace of God that brings salvation Has appeared to all men. Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly Righteously and godly in the present age looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and Purify for himself his own special people.

Zealous for good works. That's what God is waiting for his own special people. You might wonder why God tolerates the awful wickedness, the agony, the suffering, the poverty. All the terrible things that are going on in the earth.

God could speak a word and stop it. But he won't stop it. Until he has a people for himself. Jesus wants a bride to share the throne and that is a main purpose of God. A people and they have to come from every people, nation, tribe and tongue.

A holy people, a purified people. Whom he has purified from every lawless deed. From all self-will and self-ambition and self-seeking. Zealous for good works. That's what God is after. Now concerning that John tells us in 1st John chapter 3.

Purification Through Hope and Obedience

We could say this together again, too. Shall we say that? All right. Now you see how I preach. I preach from our Our proclamations. Because you see I've absorbed them. They've become part of me. I think in terms of them.

1st John 3 verses 1 through 3. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us. That we should be called children of God and we are. Therefore the world does not know us because it did not know him.

Beloved now we are children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear Be revealed we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself.

He's just as he is pure. So what's the mark of those who really are waiting for the revelation of Jesus? What are they doing? They are purifying themselves. How pure? Just as he is pure. God has only one standard of purity.

It's Jesus. You may say well, I'm looking forward to the coming of the Lord. But if you are not purifying yourself. It's not true. Because that's the evidence in the life of every person who honestly and sincerely looks for the coming of the Lord.

Everyone that has this hope in him purifies himself. Just as he is pure. Now, how do we purify ourselves? Peter tells us. 1st Peter chapter 1 verse 22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.

Unto sincere love of the brethren. So how do we purify ourselves? It isn't a mystical experience. It's obeying the truth. What truth? The truth of God's Word. That's what purifies us. Obeying the scripture.

What is the goal? It's sincere love of the brethren. Now the brethren, believe me, are not always easy to love. You acknowledge that? As Bob Mumford used to say, God has got some strange children. And then he would add, and you may be one of them.

But that is the mark of purity. Sincere love for the people of God. That's what will make us ready for the coming of the Lord. So let me just recapitulate, and we're going to close. The three purposes of God which with which I believe we need to align ourselves.

Three Purposes of God for His People

Number one, the coming of his kingdom on earth. Number two, the proclaiming of the gospel to all nations, peoples, tribes, and tongues. And number three, preparing a people for the kingdom. God's own special people.

Enduring for the Salvation of the Chosen

Now I'll just close with what I consider to be Paul's response to this challenge. These are words that have become very, very real to me just recently. 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 10. And it starts with a therefore and some of you've heard me say when you find the therefore in the Bible you need to find out what it's therefore.

You can read back and find, we're not going to look at it. But he says, therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, the chosen ones, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

I believe that's a motivation that will take you through the pressures, the trials, the disappointments, the persecution. Whatever it takes. You have to have a vision. That's my vision. I got it from Paul.

I endure all things whatever it takes for the sake of God's chosen ones. That they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. You see I have a vision. I don't see it with my eye, but I see in every tribe, people, nation, and tongue God has got those whom he has chosen from eternity and The age will not close till every one of those is in the kingdom of God.