| Derek Prince |
| "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5 |
Derek Prince (1915 - 2003), was clearly a
dedicated servant of Jesus Christ, and while I have serious disagreements with
Prince on a number of points -- even though after reading Prince I believe many
statements by him have been taken out of context, and consequently I believe
that he has been misrepresented on a number of matters, though certainly not
all, for his views on "kingdom" matters in general are fatally flawed.
Furthermore, it is clear that near the end of his life, Prince began to realize
and repent of the harm his erroneous teachings had engendered, as this statement
by him demonstrates -
"By nature, money is neutral. It can be used either for
good or for evil. But when we begin to love money, then we are caught in Satan's
snare... In my own ministry I have often taught on God's plan to prosper
believers who are committed to the purposes of His Kingdom. Yet looking back
now, I regret any occasion on which I taught this message without balancing it
with Paul' warning here in 1 Timothy." Rules Of Engagement
So in spite of Prince's doctrinal eccentricities,
and there were some, he nevertheless endured great trials and experiences in the
Lord, and the following quotations by him are evidences of those areas on which
all genuine Christians will agree.
"Sometimes it may take a crisis -- or even a seeming
disaster -- to bring us to the place where we fully acknowledge our dependence
on God... God brings us to the place of total dependence upon Himself, to
demonstrate that He is totally dependable." Rules Of Engagement
"Through exercising his will in direct disobedience to God,
man became a rebel in his soul. Since that time, every person descended from
Adam has inherited the nature of a rebel." Rules Of Engagement
"Jesus commissioned His apostles to make disciples of all
nations. He did not tell them to make church members." Rules Of Engagement
"Worship is not entertainment. That belongs in the theater,
not the church... As I see it, this purposeful worship is not the type of loud
boisterousness that has become the norm; it is quietness." Rules Of Engagement
"Nor is worship the same as praise. We praise God with our
souls, and it is right to do so. Through our praise we have access to God's
presence. But once we are in His presence, it is through worship that we enjoy
true spiritual union with Him. To be able to worship God in this way is the goal
of salvation -- first on earth, and then in heaven. It is the highest and
holiest activity of which a human being is capable. It is only possible,
however, when the soul and the body come into submission to the spirit and in
harmony with it. Such worship is often too profound for words. It becomes an
intense and silent union with God." Rules Of Engagement
"For the understanding of spiritual things, the soul is
dependent upon the spirit. If it is out of harmony with the spirit, the realm of
spiritual truth is closed to it." Rules Of Engagement
"When Christians become earthly, they lose the vision of
eternity. They cannot see beyond the things of this life: success, pleasure,
wealth, physical health. They are interested only in what their faith will do
for them in this life... Christians like that often consider themselves
prosperous and successful. God considers them pitiable." Rules Of Engagement
"God applies special tests to those for whom He has special
purposes." Rules Of Engagement
"Repentance is perhaps the basic Christian doctrine least
emphasized by contemporary preachers... any kind of faith that does not proceed
out of repentance is a humanistic counterfeit. It does not produce the results
that proceed from genuine faith." Rules Of Engagement
"When we [truly] confess Jesus as Lord, we give Him
unreserved control over our whole lives -- our time, our money, our talents, our
priorities, our relationships." Rules Of Engagement
"God will not permit us to be tested beyond what we can
bear. He will not expect of us what He required of Jesus -- perhaps not even
what He required of Job. Every test or corrective chastening we go through is
designed to mold our character, until we have become in Christ all that God
created us to be." Rules Of Engagement
"God will not withdraw His tests and chastening until His
purpose has been accomplished. The sooner we learn to endure -- assuming
repentance has taken place when necessary -- the more rapid will be our
spiritual progress." Rules Of Engagement
"It is not sufficient that we deal with things in our lives
that are actually sinful. We must also eliminate weights -- things that are not
sinful in themselves, but yet would hinder us from concentrating every effort on
our service for Christ." Rules Of Engagement
"If God grants you some special miracle, that does not make
you a special person; it only means that you have a special God." Rules Of
Engagement
"We must never let the world entice us into accepting its
standards of success. We must never seek the world's approval. The desire for
popularity is always dangerous." Rules Of Engagement
"Only after we have denied ourselves can we go on to take
up our crosses. Someone has defined our crosses as the place where God's will
and our will cross. It is, in fact, the place of execution." Rules Of Engagement
"God has only one solution for dealing with our old man. He
does not send him to church or Sunday school; He does not teach him the Golden
Rule or direct him to a class on self-improvement. God's solution is simple and
final. It is execution. The good news of the Gospel, however, is that the
execution took place when Jesus died on the cross. Our old man was crucified at
that time in Him. This is a simple historical fact. It is true whether or not we
know it or believe it. But to benefit from it, we must both know it and believe
it." Rules Of Engagement
"In many churches people talk about the morning worship
service. Without being critical, it has been my experience that in many of those
churches not much true worship is taking place." Rules Of Engagement
"I believe it is hard for God to accept halfhearted praise.
In fact, if we are not prepared to praise Him greatly, maybe we should not do it
at all. That is the way of access, and I do not believe there is any access
without it." Rules Of Engagement
"The first reason to worship God is because He IS God and
He is OUR God. He is the only being in the universe actually worthy of
worship... The second reason given for worshipping Him is that we are the people
of His pasture, the flock under His care. Worship is the appropriate response to
God's care for us. It is the way we recognize Him as our God; it is the way we
respond to His care for us." Rules Of Engagement
"We do not hear God's voice unless we possess an attitude
of worship. Then, in hearing God's voice, we enter into His rest. thus, I
believe worship is the way to rest. Only those who really know how to worship
can really enjoy rest." Rules Of Engagement
"God is more concerned with our character than with our
achievements. Achievements have importance only in the realm of time. Character
is eternal. It determines what we will be through eternity." Rules Of Engagement
"I am awed by the realization that Judas could not carry
out his plan to betray Jesus until Jesus Himself spoke the word that released
him to do it. Throughout this whole scene, it was the Betrayed, not the
betrayer, who was in control." Rules Of Engagement
"There is no such thing as an emergency in the Kingdom of
heaven. And God does not merely KNOW the end from the beginning, He HIMSELF IS
both the Beginning and the End (see Revelation 21:6). And He is always in total
control." Rules Of Engagement
"No matter where we may go, God is there by His Spirit --
invisible, often imperceptible, but inescapable." Rules Of Engagement
"All three Persons of the Godhead are involved in this
process of bringing forth fruit. The Father is the vinedresser. Jesus is the
vine. And the Holy Spirit is the life that flows through the vine and into the
branches. The Holy Spirit is the one who actually produces the fruit. It is not
the fruit of our best efforts. It is not the fruit of religion. It is the fruit
of the Holy Spirit." Rules Of Engagement
"What can we say of a church that refuses the gifts of the
Holy Spirit? It lacks the distinctive marks of the bride." Rules Of Engagement
"Deception is the primary weapon that Satan relies on to
keep humanity under his control. Once his ability to deceive is stripped away,
Satan has nothing to offer anyone except a place with him in the lake of eternal
fire." Rules Of Engagement
"In the spiritual realm, therefore, there are three
coordinates of truth: Jesus, the Scripture, and the Holy Spirit... Thus, there
are three questions we must ask concerning any spiritual issue: Does it
represent Jesus as He truly is? Is it in harmony with Scripture? Does the Holy
Spirit bear His witness?... Before we can accept what is presented to us as
truth, all three coordinates must be in place: Jesus, the Scripture, the Holy
Spirit." Rules Of Engagement
"This truth runs through the whole Bible: God will never
compromise with sin." Rules Of Engagement
"Many Christians today are speaking and praying about
revival. They often overlook the fact that there is one barrier to revival that
can never be bypassed. It is sin. Until sin is dealt with, true revival can
never come... Frankly stated, many sections of the contemporary Church are full
of covered sin." Rules Of Engagement
"God's remedy is twofold: First, CONFESS, then FORSAKE. It
is seldom easy to confess our sins. Yet there is no other remedy... God has
never committed Himself to forgive sins that we are not willing to confess. But
it is not enough to merely confess. We must also FORSAKE. We must make a
resolute determination not to continue to commit the sin we have confessed."
Rules Of Engagement
"We can espouse reasonable philosophy and noble thoughts
about God all day long, but if we are not rooted in HIS WORD, OUR words are not
reliable. There is no way around it: We cannot hope to endure if our Christian
lives are not built on the foundation of the Word of God." Rules Of Engagement
"We will find that we move from strength to strength as we
meditate on, study and apply the Word of God." Rules Of Engagement
"The Bible, though it came through vessels of clay -- weak,
fallible, sinful men and women -- has been purified seven times by the fire of
the Holy Spirit. It is totally reliable." Rules Of Engagement
"The Holy Spirit always glorifies Jesus. If you ever are
confronted by spiritual manifestations that do not glorify Jesus but give glory
to a person or in some other direction, you can be sure that it is not the Holy
Spirit. The supreme ministry of the Holy Spirit is to reveal and glorify Jesus."
Rules Of Engagement
"Please do not imagine that God's blessing will always make
life easy for you. In fact, in a certain sense, it may make life more difficult,
because Satan much more strongly opposes those whom God has anointed." Rules Of
Engagement
"If people are excessively preoccupied with spiritual
gifts, it often indicates that they are more concerned with the things of time
than eternity." Rules Of Engagement
"The most essential form of knowledge in the Christian life
is the knowledge of God's will as revealed in Scripture. This, too, is
practical. It demands a regular, systematic study of the whole Bible." Rules Of
Engagement
"We all need to bear mind continually that PRIDE was the
cause of Lucifer's downfall. It is also the main motive that Satan uses in
tempting human beings to sin. Pride has caused the downfall of more men and
women than all the other sins put together." Rules Of Engagement
"We may make claims to love God and we may even pray long
and eloquent prayers or preach long and eloquent sermons, but as the last resort
we really do not honor and obey God more than we honor and obey His Word." Rules
Of Engagements
"We must be faithful to the truth of Scripture even when it
is controversial or unpopular." Rules Of Engagements
"The kind of righteousness God looks for is not mere
intellectual assent to doctrine. It is a condition of the hear, not the mind."
Rules Of Engagements
"We can take God's Word in our mouths, but it only achieves
its full effect when it is the Holy Spirit within us who actually wields it."
Rules Of Engagements
"Untested relationships are like unrefined gold. They are
not acceptable in heaven." Rules Of Engagements
"The governments and the armies of the world, operating
solely in the natural plane, have no understanding of the conflict and no power
to deal with the satanic forces in the heavenlies. On the contrary, without
realizing it, they themselves are manipulated and controlled by those forces."
Rules Of Engagements
"It has been demonstrated that, carried to its ultimate
conclusion, humanism will believe anything but the Truth and will tolerate
anything but righteousness." Rules Of Engagements
"Those who speak of Satan being reconciled to God do not
understand the scriptural basis of reconciliation... Where there is no
repentance, there can be no reconciliation." Rules Of Engagements
"It is possible for the will of a created being to be so
set in rebellion that there is thereafter no possibility of its being changed.
In such a case, repentance is no longer possible." Rules Of Engagements
"There are only two possible attitudes: submission to God
or opposition to God. Human beings who, through repentance, submit themselves to
God, are spared from the lake of fire. All others, who do not thus submit, are
in opposition to God. They necessarily associate themselves with the devil and
his angels. Because of this association, they are condemned to the same
destination -- the lake of fire. For all who once enter this lake of fire --
whether angels or men -- there is no way back. It is forever and ever." Rules Of
Engagements
"The picture presented in Scripture of God's nature and
dealings with man is like a coin. It has two opposite sides, which together make
up the complete coin... To efface one side of a coin renders it incomplete and
valueless. So it is with the picture of God presented in the Bible. To speak
always of goodness, but never of severity -- to speak always of mercy and grace,
but never of wrath and judgment -- this is to efface one side of the coin, and
to render the Bible's picture of God incomplete and valueless. Those who speak
like this are unfaithful to god and unfair to men. In so doing, they
misrepresent God and mislead men." Rules Of Engagements
"The opposition of Satan to the return of Jesus is the
unseen force behind many of the conflicts and pressures in the contemporary
world." Rules Of Engagements
"Just as surely as Jesus came the first time THROUGH the
Jews, so surely He will come back the second time TO the Jews... The spirit that
opposes the reestablishment of Israel is the spirit that opposes the return of
Jesus. Though it may wear many disguises, it is the spirit of Satan himself."
Rules Of Engagements
"Balaam is a strange and intriguing personality -- a
baffling combination of supernatural spiritual gifts and corrupt character.
Significantly, we see more and more ministries in today's Church with a similar
combination of spiritual gifts and corrupt character." Rules Of Engagements
"Almighty God has made an irrevocable commitment to
establish the Jews as His people forever. There is no power in the universe,
human or satanic, that can ever annul this commitment." Rules Of Engagements
"When we pass from time to eternity, we will leave our
gifts behind, but our character will be with us forever." Rules Of Engagements
"Love of the truth is not mere conformity to a religious
code, however orthodox is may be. Nor is it even reading your Bible and having a
quiet time every day. It demands a total, unreserved commitment to believe and
obey God's Word -- one that rules out all forms of compromise." Rules Of
Engagements
"Truth is not obtained cheaply. It demands much time given
to prayer and study of the Scriptures, followed by practical application in our
daily lives. It must take priority over the many forms of cheap entertainment
offered by our secular culture. It is a lifetime commitment." Rules Of
Engagements
"We can be tempted to purchase popularity at the price of
truth by leaving out the hard sayings of Jesus and presenting a Gospel that
demands no sacrifice but promises an easy way through life." Rules Of
Engagements
"Simply stated, there are two kinds of tests: when it is
too hard and when it is too easy -- the first is persecution; the second is
riches... So bear in mind, you are going to be tested by tribulation, and you
are going to be tested by success. You have to hold out through both." Rules Of
Engagements
"We need to remember that some things are not sins, but
they are weights that can burden you down and hold you back." Rules Of
Engagements
"It is hard to find another way into the Kingdom of God
other than through tribulation... We live now in the Kingdom -- but it is
through much tribulation that we come into Kingdom living." Rules Of Engagements
"Sometimes I think we owe it to people when they come to
the Lord to warn them that if they are going to move into the Kingdom, it will
be through tribulation and opposition. I think it is unfair to tell new converts
that when they come to Jesus, all their problems will be solved, because it
certainly rarely, if ever, will work out that way. In fact, often you will have
problems you never knew existed before." Rules Of Engagements
"Faith is related to the unseen. Faith is a sure conviction
concerning things not seen. If you and I are going to hold out, the unseen world
has got to be more real to us than the seen." Rules Of Engagements
"Stay in the Word. don't take just five minutes a day with
your Bible. Read it. Meditate on it. Believe it. Live in it. Ask the Holy Spirit
to make it real to you. And that Word will become so real to you that there will
be nothing in this world that could tempt you or attract you in any disloyalty
to Jesus Christ." Rules Of Engagements
"Another way to look at gifts and character is to realize
spiritual gifts are one thing, and spiritual fruit are another." The Gifts Of
The Spirit
"One of the main means by which love is enabled to act is
by the gifts of the Holy Spirit." The Gifts Of The Spirit
"Biblical love is always very practical. It does not sit
around using nice phrases; it does something." The Gifts Of The Spirit
"While all believers are given distinct gifts, this does
not limit the Holy Spirit from manifesting any gift through any person at any
time He wants to, because all the gifts are resident in Him." The Gifts Of The
Spirit
"Some people tell us that the gifts were withdrawn from the
church after the first century. Yet Paul said the church is to exercise the
gifts while it waits for the return of the Lord Jesus... There is not a
Scripture in the Bible that suggests the supernatural gifts of God's grace will
ever be withdrawn from the church of Jesus Christ. When the church, as the
bride, goes to meet Jesus, the Bridegroom, she will be adorned with the gifts He
sent to her." The Gifts Of The Spirit
"Spiritual gifts are not something remote from a bygone
age; neither are they reserved for a few spiritual giants or preachers and
missionaries in foreign lands. The New Testament reveals the gifts as part of
the spiritual equipment for normal Christian living for believers throughout all
ages until Christ returns." The Gifts Of The Spirit
"We can never do anything to earn the grace of God. The
hardest thing for a religious person to realize is he has no claim on the grace
of God whatever. We cannot please God more than by being willing to accept His
grace without trying to earn it or be good enough." The Gifts Of The Spirit