Made Righteous | Joel & Amy Siegel | Fresno, CA | JTH Crusades 2024 | Tuesday AM

Summary

Podcast Summary

Overview

Episode Title: Made Righteous | Joel & Amy Siegel | Fresno, CA | JTH Crusades 2024 | Tuesday AM
Host: Dufresne Ministries
Guests/Speakers: Joel & Amy Siegel
Date: March 27, 2024

This episode focuses on the believer's position of righteousness in Christ and its vital connection to effective prayer. Joel Siegel shares practical and scriptural insights—using personal testimony, biblical teaching, and humor—to encourage listeners to approach God boldly, free from condemnation. Amy Siegel reinforces these teachings with practical applications and a call to meditate on the truth of being made righteous.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Significance of Prayer (00:09–17:15)

• Joel Siegel opens with gratitude for being part of the meeting and shares about his early ministry experiences with Kenneth E. Hagin, emphasizing the impact of learning about the move of the Spirit and the priority of prayer in the Christian life.
  • Quote (06:20):
    "There is a move of the Spirit that will be lost to this generation unless you teach them." — Kenneth E. Hagin, recounted by Joel Siegel.
• Joel recounts humorous and memorable stories from working with the ministry team, using these as metaphors for learning through practical experience and emphasizing being useful and available for God’s purposes.
• He transitions to the importance of every believer in participating in the plan of God through prayer, and the goal of being effective—not just active—in prayer.

2. Not All Prayer is Equal (17:16–29:10)

• Joel illustrates that simply praying, or even praying from a place of being born again, is not automatically effective. The quality and understanding behind the prayer matter.
  • Quote (22:50):
    "Not all prayer is the same. Not all prayer is effective prayer." — Joel Siegel
• Shares personal stories, including dealing with panic attacks and ineffective prayers from fellow Christians, pointing out that confidence and righteousness are essential ingredients for "availing" prayer.
• References stories about Smith Wigglesworth, underlining the importance of fervency and faith in praying.

3. Who Was James, and Why Does His Teaching Matter? (29:10–39:40)

• Joel takes time to set up the biblical context for James 5, explaining that James was the brother of Jesus, a devout Jewish leader known for prayer ("Old Camel Knees") and righteous living.
  • Quote (35:09):
    "When we read from James, you talk about somebody who paid something." — Joel Siegel
• Details James’ martyrdom and authority, positioning James as a crucial voice on the subject of prayer and righteousness for believers.

4. The Effectual, Fervent Prayer of a Righteous Man (39:41–52:00)

• Joel reads and explains James 5:13–16, focusing primarily on verse 16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
  • Highlights that Scripture does not say any person's prayer avails much, but specifically the “righteous” person.
• Introduces practical language for overcoming negative thought patterns about oneself:
  • Quote (42:40):
    "But the Bible says you may be healed. Yeah, but my symptoms... You got to move your butt. Butt's in the wrong place. You got to get on the other side of the butt." — Joel Siegel
• Stresses that position and identity in Christ (not performance) enable potent prayer.
  • Salvation is not dependent solely on righteous acts, but on being made righteous through Christ.

5. Understanding Righteousness: Identity and Nature (52:01–59:23)

• Joel directs listeners to 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Romans 5:19, explaining the exchange on the cross: Jesus was “made sin” so that we could be “made righteous.”
  • Quote (54:38):
    "Jesus was made sin... Not because he acted sinful. He didn’t act sinful. He was made that way. He was made sin for us that we... were made righteous." — Joel Siegel
• Emphasizes that righteousness is both a position and nature, not just a behavior, and critiques the mentality that prevents believers from accessing God's presence through condemnation or a sense of being an outsider.
• Uses his own background as a Jewish person coming to faith to highlight internal barriers believers face—even after salvation.

6. Guilt, Condemnation, and True Repentance (59:24–1:05:00)

• Teaches that conviction (guilt about sin) is healthy when it draws to repentance, but ongoing condemnation after repentance is from the enemy and must be resisted.
• Illustrates with a practical story about church members dealing with sin, balancing grace with the need for proper conduct.
• Asserts the biblical promise: through Christ, sin loses its dominion, and believers are empowered to live rightly.

7. Full Access Through Righteousness (1:05:01–1:09:52)

• Quotes 1 John 3 and stresses the reality of being "just as righteous as He is righteous."
  • Quote (1:07:35):
    "He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous." — 1 John 3:7, cited by Joel
• Explains the biblical process of confession and restoration to righteousness, emphasizing the power of approaching God boldly.
• Quote (1:09:00):
  "When you designed that throne, you must have had me in mind, because I have as much right to be here as Jesus has a right to be here—not based on my performance, but His performance." — Joel Siegel

8. The Role of Correct Thinking and Mental Filters (1:09:53–1:12:50)

• Amy Siegel joins to discuss the importance of renewing the mind and recognizing spiritual filters from past experiences or religious upbringing that may block a believer from receiving the truth and its benefits.
  • Quote (1:10:18):
    "The enemy has worked hard to build a filter in you that is so tightly wound that the word of God can't reach your inner man, can't get to your spirit." — Amy Siegel
• Calls listeners to steadfastly hold on to Scripture and their new identity.

9. Affirming Identity and Bold Approach to God (1:12:51–1:17:00)

• Joel jokingly adopts the biblical nickname “Joel the Just,” inviting others to similarly adopt their righteous identity.
  • Quote (1:12:08): "I’m Joel the Just. Who are you?" — Joel Siegel "Amy the Righteous." — Amy Siegel

10. Prayer Activation and Ministry Time (1:17:01–1:21:00)

• Both lead in bold, faith-filled prayer, affirming truths about righteousness, healing, miracles, and agreeing together for the outpouring of God's Spirit and creative miracles.
• The ministry time is marked by praying in tongues, praise, and thanksgiving, reinforcing the message’s application through practice.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

On Our Position Before God:

• “Our very approach to God has to be from a place and an understanding of our righteousness in God.” (29:40 – Joel)

On Condemnation and Sin:

• "You overcome that. You kick that condemnation out. You don't allow the condemnation to stay." (1:08:30 – Joel)

On Spiritual Identity:

• “I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Glory. Hallelujah.” (1:08:46 – Joel)
• "I'm Joel the Just. Who are you?" (1:12:08 – Joel)
• "Amy the Righteous." (1:12:14 – Amy)

On Dealing with the Past:

• "...One of the biggest hindrances to our prosperity is our past. Because the way we've been raised and the way we've been raised to think a certain way." (1:09:56 – Amy)

On Prayer That Avails Much:

• "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous person makes tremendous power of dynamic, filled with the power of God." (29:15 – Joel)

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Important Timestamps

• Personal Testimony, Early Ministry with Hagin: 00:09–09:50
• Illustrations about Prayer and Righteousness: 17:10–29:10
• Biographical Context of James: 29:10–39:40
• Scriptural Focus: James 5:16, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:19: 39:41–59:23
• Discussion of Guilt, Condemnation, Walking in Righteousness: 59:24–1:05:00
• Identity, Confidence Before God, and Restoration: 1:05:01–1:09:52
• Amy on Wrong Thinking & Mental Filters: 1:09:53–1:12:50
• Affirmational Exchange (Joel the Just, Amy the Righteous): 1:12:51–1:13:10
• Corporate Prayer and Activation: 1:13:21–1:21:00

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Conclusion

This episode powerfully addresses the foundational New Testament truth that believers have been “made righteous” in Christ, not by performance but by receiving God’s gift. Joel & Amy Siegel blend biblical scholarship, vulnerability, and humor to dismantle shame, encourage bold access to God, and call listeners to participate in effective, powerful prayer. The teaching concludes with actionable faith: a bold prayer time built on the rock-solid identity of righteousness.

Takeaway:
Know who you are in Christ: made righteous, welcomed at the throne, empowered to pray prayers that release God's power.
“It’s who I am. It’s who I am.” — Joel & Amy (1:12:05)

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For further details and more resources, visit dufresneministries.org

Transcript

[A]

Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message.

[B]

Thank you. Glory. Praise him. Good morning, everybody. So good to be here. So good to be here. You can be seated for now and thank you, guys. Appreciate it. Thank you, Pastor, for having us. We are. We are deeply honored to be here, and I suspect it will always be that way. I mean, we've. It always feels like, man, God, you've been way too good to us, letting us be part of these. And, And. But we. We also rejoice in his plan. And thank God it is an easy plan. You know what's not easy? It's not easy to succeed if you're not connected right to the right. If you're not connected to the church and pastor you're supposed to be with, that's not easy. But so we do rejoice in what is easy. Praise God. In these morning meetings, it's the direction of the Lord that we, at least in a general sense, go the direction of prayer, where we minister on the subject of prayer. Well, that's a convenient. That's a convenient thing because it's such a broad subject, such a big subject, and really, it's a major emphasis in the New Testament and takes. For you. For your individual life, takes up about a good portion of your spiritual life, doesn't it? I mean, if you're not reading the Word and you're spiritually active, it's probably under that category of prayer. So we enjoy that. Years ago, you know, I had the privilege to travel for seven years with Brother Hagin, Kenneth E. Hagin. And when he was having his Holy Ghost meetings, and I was in just about all of those, I was in the very first one, I will never Forget Sitting in January 1994 in North Miami Beach, Florida, at Words of Life Fellowship Church with pastors Stan and Jerry Moore. And I will never forget sitting right on the end on the second row. I don't know why I got such a good. I mean, of course, I was new to his group. The others were in the front row. So I really was a row behind, which was great. And I had never been in a service with Brother Hagin before. I'd never met Brother Hagin. I met him several meetings in. And listen, that was fine with me. But I was sitting there like the cat that stole the canary, you know what I mean? I was sitting there grinning like somebody accidentally put me here. And I was not hired to travel with him. I was hired to stay at Home and do the writing and arranging and rehearsing the group. Well, that kind of stuff didn't happen out on the road. They let me come to the first meeting because I grew up about 15 minutes away from there in Hollywood, Florida. And so my parents lived there. And they said, well, this is your hometown. You want to go, you can go. I said, well, yeah, I'd love to go. And I'm in that meeting. And a couple things happened in that meeting. I don't know, didn't plan to share any of this, but there's a whole lot I do that I don't plan to do. And if that absolves me of any guilt or responsibility, then that's why I say that. But anyhow, a couple things happened in that meeting. The most important thing that happened in that meeting, when I was sitting there, Brother Hagin was standing like over there and he made some statements that changed my life in that meeting. And one of the statements, because this was the first of these meetings, and he said the Lord had spoken to him and said these words that there is a move of the spirit that will be lost to this generation unless you teach them. And I had no idea what he was talking about. I mean, literally, when you say a move of the spirit, it was foreign to me. I was a first year Bible school student then. We had never been in a full gospel or charismatic setting consistently, so we'd never experienced really what he was talking about. I had very little concept of what it is. But when he said those words, it was like somebody took a branding iron. And on the inside of me, I just had this sense of, this is why you're on the planet. And so over the next years, I got to learn a little bit. And I'm still learning about this thing because how many know that from the beginning of the book of the Bible, the first thing that it says in Genesis in the beginning was the heavens and the earth, right? God created rather the heavens and the earth. And it says the Spirit of God moved. So it's everything in Christianity, everything in the plan of God is a combination of the word of God, the Spirit of God. And so if you're ignorant of one of those, that's not good, that's not good. And so I have made it, tried to make it my life's pursuit to try to learn what he was talking about, because I had this sense that my assignment would be to help perpetuate what he was doing. And that's still the case. And so I said all that. I think to say, oh, the other thing that happened in those meetings. You want to know the other thing? The other thing that happened in those meetings is a little bit less heavy and a little bit more humorous. But my immediate boss was Craig Hagin, Brother Hagin's grandson. And Craig, I was out working the book. I mean, be smart. If you get to go somewhere you're really not supposed to be, make yourself useful, you know what I'm saying? So I'm out there stalking. And they liked me at the tape table because people would come up and say, what series did brother Hagin tell this story on? And, and nobody knew, but I knew I knew. And I'd say, that's on tape. Three in the answer prayer obtainable goals series number 56, whatever the numbers were. And so I'm out there like stocking the tables and stuff like that. And brother Craig walks by and he just kind of stops and he looks over and he said, you know, if you'll learn to drive the semi truck, you could come on all these. And so I said, well, I know how to drive a semi truck because it's, how hard could it be? We're in the easy flow, only 13 gears. I mean, how hard could that be? I had driven 5. What till it was 13. But the reason I said that our time is precious here. I really got to be. I'll speed this along. But I mean the reason I said that because I had. Before I went to Bible school, I had been on the road for three years with a Christian music group. We had a 45 foot tour bus and a, with a 53 foot trailer, a semi rig that all the equipment and then our clothes and everything else was, it was in that semi. And we would, oftentimes every night we're in a different city and sometimes you have to drive all night to get to the next place, you know. And so we. Anytime you're on a night, all night drive, somebody has to stay up with the driver. And we would do two hours. Now the driver's supposed to be sleeping in the afternoon, right while we're, while we're ministering and the service driver's supposed to be sleeping. And so we only had to do like two hour shifts. But I got, I got the nasty shift, I got the, I got the 2am Now Sister Cindy knows what we talk. I got the two to four shifts. And we had names for that that I won't repeat here. And Bubba was our driver. Bubba was about this high and same, same width. And Bubba, something had happened with, with One of the engines. And during the afternoon, he had to help get that repaired so we could drive. That night, he didn't get to sleep like he wanted to. So he's struggling. I'm over there. And he said, take the wheel for a second. I said, what? He said, put your hands on the wheel. He had put the cruise control on. We're going down the highway. And he put the cruise control on. I held the wheel for him, and he jumps back into the sleeper berth. And he said, slide over. I said, bubba. And he said. I said, I don't know how to. He said, can you point it and keep it in between the lines? He said, I need like 15 minutes. And I said, yeah, I can point it if I don't have to shift or anything. It's cruise control. So I'm, you know, I'm over there. And you might think that's dangerous. That's how we would always switch drivers. Cindy, is it true that's how we would switch drivers on the bus? Just cruise controls? One person out, other person in. Totally legal. It's easy, I guess. We didn't get that all out last night, did we? We're going to apply that. So I did it for 15, 20 minutes, and then, same thing. I scooched over. He jumped back in. He said, thank you. We made it. I know how to drive a semi. I didn't lie. I was experienced since that time. I got my CDL and actually learned how to shift, sort of. Praise the Lord. Anyhow, I said all of that because I was talking about being in those meetings where in the morning services we would always emphasize the subject of prayer. And it was in those services, as well as some other times, that I began to learn. I still feel like I'm in the beginning stages of learning, but I began to learn just how. Not just how vital, but what a place there is that every member of the body of Christ can participate in, in helping to propel the plan of God, taken their place in the things of God. And it's this place of prayer because we. And not only was there teaching along the lines of prayer, but we actually got to pray in those meetings with Brother Hagin leading us. And so I learned so much. And it's. It's just as vital today as it was those 20. Well, 94. This is. This was that 30 years ago now that we were in those meetings, right? Because this is 24. Praise the Lord. And so we are real interested, aren't we? And if we're going to do this, let's do it effectively. If we're going to do it, let's do it right. Because one of the big things I've learned is everybody has a different concept of prayer, and everybody practices it differently based on where they're at spiritually. But not all prayer is effective prayer. Now, can I take you back to the semi truck for a second? Bubba left after a while, and Steve came. Steve's in heaven now. Steve was bigger than Bubba, but taller and bigger. And I was going through, let's just say, the fact that I made it to the altar and got married, and then this just made it. I was going through some rough years dealing with some things that the enemy was trying to put on me. We've all been there, probably. And anyhow, I started having a panic attack. I was on a shift keeping Steve awake. Steve never asked me to drive. I'm trying to help Steve stay awake. And I'm on and I'm in the sleeper birth, and I start having, like, this panic attack, like, okay, my God, we're going to die right here, right now. You know, the devil just taking advantage of me. And I dealt with that for a number of years until I learned some things to help me get free. Been so long since I've had anything like that that I couldn't. Couldn't even tell you how many decades it's been. But God set me free from that. And so I said, steve, I think I'm dying. Pray. How would you pray? How would you pray? You grab the horns of the altar. Come on, man, you take hold. And I'm telling you, the prayer that he came out with was about as good as blessing the food. You know what I mean? There was no heart. There was no connection. It was our most gracious heavenly father. Like, it was a total blessing my meal. But instead of saying bless this food, which he did a lot, he knew that prayer really good man du boy could eat. And so I was like, thanks. And I'm like, I'll just die. I'll just die. If that's. That's the best I can. If that's the best you can do. Well, that reminded me of, you know, how many ever heard stories of Smith Wigglesworth when he was. He was in a place and they were. They were. A bunch of them were trying to pray over this person who was at the point of death. And they're praying, oh, Lord, help. Help this person that's about to be bereaved. And. And Smith said, shut up. I mean, said, shut them all up. My God. Get out. Get out. Just leave the room if you're going to pray that way. So why did I say that? Because not all prayer is the same. Not all prayer is effective prayer. So having said all that, could you turn in your Bible this morning to the fifth chapter of James? Thank you. Here. Fifth chapter of James. It seems to me we're going to spend some time in James this week. And if we're going to spend some time. And by the way, hello. Good to see everybody. If I know you, it's so good to see you again. And if I don't, it's good to meet you or be with you. And if you're not sure about me, you'll like me. You'll like me. And the better you know me, the more you like me. Isn't that right, Pastor Debbie? Yeah. Thank you. So we're going to be okay with each other this week, is what I'm saying. You ought to know who you're with. Let me talk to you about this guy James we're going to be with a little bit. Not everybody knows this is not one of the twelve apostles. James the James. There were actually two of the twelve named James. You know that, right? There was. There was James, the brother of John, sons of Zebedee, the fisherman. That James was martyred very early on. He was the first of the 12 to be martyred in Acts, chapter 12. I believe he was. They killed him. Then there was also another one called James the Less, or we would probably just say little James. He must have been shorter than the other one. Little James. That's not this either. This is James, the brother of the Lord, the brother of Jesus. Jesus, you know, had four brothers and Jesus was the oldest. We know. How do we know that now? The Bible. I always get the Bible school students on that because they're like, I don't know, born of a virgin. That's how we know Jesus was the oldest. But next, probably next oldest, if they listed them in order of their birth, would be. Would be James, the brother of Lord. And you really have to stop and put yourself in this perspective here because his brothers were so not on board with his ministry while he was on Earth. Matter of fact, there was a time, if you read about it in John chapter seven, there was a time when the Jews wanted to kill Jesus. Not just one time regularly, but it said Jesus wouldn't go through Judea because they were trying to kill him. And his brothers were trying to get him to go through Judea. They said, go on up, come on go to the festival, you big stuff. You big shot. Let everybody see your works. Come on. Go, go, go. And you know, Jesus, dad died at some point. Now Jesus was as. They're all coming up. You know, he's the oldest brother. And. And you got to understand these dynamics. I mean, that had to hurt the Lord. It had to affect him. And his brothers were united against him. And the Bible just flat says they did not believe in him. They did not believe in him. But before the day of Pentecost, guess who were all in the upper room? All of his brothers, every day in prayer. They were all there. And James actually becomes the leader, not one of the 12, but he becomes the leader of the church of Jerusalem. And his letter is. He becomes. He really is considered an apostle because he saw the risen Lord and Jesus actually appeared to him privately. If you read in First Corinthians 15, when it lists the people that it says he appeared to the twelve, and then he appeared to Peter, and then it says he appeared to James. And you just have to imagine what a shift this is from not believing to now realizing that you were speaking against him when he's on Earth, when you could have been with him and helping him. And now he appears to you. And that appearance had to have absolutely rocked his world to where he's like, I will do anything. You just tell me. And Jesus obviously must have talked to him something about, I'm going to need you in leadership. And what history tells us about this guy. James. He had a couple nicknames. One of his nicknames was James the Just. Catholics would know, would know that because it's popular, but he was James the Just or James the Righteous. He lived such a holy life. He was such a zealous Jew, which is probably one of the reasons he didn't get on board with everything Jesus was doing. And so he was so zealous and so righteous that he was called James the Justice. He also had another nickname. They called him Old Camel Knees. Anybody ever heard that? Old Camel Knees. Because again, this is from historians. This isn't just in the Bible. But they said he spent so much time on his knees in prayer that his knees were all calloused. And they said it looked like the knees of a camel, I guess. And he would cry out for the salvation of his brethren, the Jews. And so he writes this letter. And this letter is not written to people he's ever ministered to, as far as we have any idea of. It's written to the 12 tribes scattered abroad. Those. Those are The Jews of the Diaspora that. Whether. Whether through Babylonian exile or Persian exile, one of those, that they were not in Judea or Jerusalem where he was ministering. And his letter has this authority to it. He doesn't spend a lot of time, you know, like Paul. Paul's always like, hey, tell this one. Hey, tell this one. Hey, tell Sister so. And so I said, hello. No, no, James. James is like. And you need to know this one more thing about James. He was martyred horribly. James was so respected even among the unbelieving Jews, that when they had a big Passover and everybody's there at the temple, that there was so much buzz going on around about Jesus. They actually asked James to go calm everybody down. You heard about this. And so they brought. They brought James up to the pinnacle of the temple. How many ever heard of the pinnacle of the temple? That's where the enemy took Jesus and said, cast yourself down from here. And so all the Jewish leaders said, james, you're the most respected among us. Tell these people to stop all this stuff about Jesus. And James said, well, Jesus, you're talking about the one who sits at the right hand of the Father and is soon to return. And they said, okay. We asked the wrong person. We asked the wrong person. And they took him there on the pinnacle of the temple, because everybody could see him there. And they threw him down. They threw him down. And he did not die from the fall. So they stoned him, and he did not die from the stones. So a launderer that had a big laundry club came and. And just gave it. Gave him one in the head and took him out. So when we read from James, you talk about somebody who paid something. You talk about somebody who, with the years that he had left, he lives so. Right. He lives. And he gave so much of his time to prayer that if he talks about prayer, which he does, we're going to. We're going to really. We're going to get this. So in James, chapter five. Here. Thank you, master. I mean, James should have been one of the. These guys should be like Avengers, you know, they were. So. Verse 13 says, I'm just going to blaze through some of this to get to the verse we want to talk about today. But it says, is any among you afflicted, let him pray. Is any merry, let him sing psalms. So whichever one of those you are, there's still a way for you to make a connection, a connection to God. You need to make a connection and give expression to something. Is any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church, let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. So much we'll say about this at another time. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick. And the Lord shall raise him up, and if he's committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults, one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed. I kind of like those words, you may be healed. The Bible says you can be healed. Well, the doctors are saying I can't. But the Bible says. The Bible says you may be healed. Yeah, but my symptoms. But the Bible says. The Bible says you may be healed. It's as easy as saying, but the Bible says. But the Bible says. You got to watch that word, but don't you? Because it's easy to get on the wrong side of it and it's easy for this thought to come to you. I know what the Bible says, but the doctor says. I know what the Bible says, but I'm just feeling worse. You know what you got to do? Got to move your butt. Butt's in the wrong place. You got to get on the other side of the butt. Come on, turn to somebody and say, move your butt. No, no, no, you don't say that. But the Bible says. But the Bible says you may be healed. And then this verse we like to look at right here, or the remaining clause in this verse, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Most of us here have read it, and we will probably look at it in the amplified. At some point where it says, the effectual fervent or heartfelt prayer of the righteous man makes tremendous power available. Something along those lines. I haven't. Dynamic in its action. And we get to that. And we should get to that, because that is big for the times that we're in this move of the spirit that would be lost unless there needs to be power available that's made available through prayer. But. But I was. As I was preparing for these meetings, I had the Lord impress me because I like to get into the goodies. You know what I mean? I like to get into the. Yea, the deep things of God. The things. The things that for so long, you know, traveling with Brother Hagin, I would hear him say, you know, there's things that I've been wanting to say to the body of Christ for years and years, and I haven't been able to say them, and I can't say them now. Anybody here remember hearing him say that? And we'd just be sitting there going like, well, just say it. Bless God. I mean, say it now. Say it here. But we found out that he couldn't say it because it's not a matter of what you know, it's a matter of what people can receive and if they can't receive it. But you got to back up and get him in a place to receive it. So there's some things I'd like to say to you today, but I believe my wife will say them tomorrow. All right. But I was very much led or impressed to talk about this thing. The prayer of a righteous man. The prayer of a righteous man. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, affects much. Not the prayer of any man. Because how many know there's a lot of lost people, that if things get bad enough they will pray. And you know what they'll say? Well, there's nothing left to do now but pray. It's gotten so bad that we're going to have to talk to God. Who thought it would ever get that bad that we'd have to talk to God before we see God. You know, you want to talk to God before you see God, if you ever want to see God. You don't need to talk to God here. You know, they don't take walk ins. You can't just walk up heaven. You got to have a reservation. And the only place you can make a reservation for heaven is on earth while you're on earth, gotta have reservations. No walk ins, no walk ups. You got to talk to them here if you're ever going to see them there. So I don't know. Okay. Praise the Lord. So there's people who aren't righteous. They will pray, but their prayers aren't effective. And then there's Christians. Listen to me. Now there's Christians who pray, but not effectively listen. Steve got me nowhere. You remember Steve? Our most gracious. If you're going to start a prayer of deliverance with our most gracious like, oh, my God, somebody asked me to pray. Pray, pray, prayer. What have I heard? What have I heard? Oh, dinner, dinner. Most recent thing I heard was dinner. Our most gracious heavenly Father, we thank thee for these, thy bountiful gifts. Bless the hands that prepare them. That's honest to God. That's what he was praying, you know, bless the hands that prepared them.

[A]

And.

[B]

I need devils to get off of me. And that's how you gonna pray. And Steve was born again. And therefore he was positionally righteous, but was walking in none of it. And he didn't have any boldness to approach God. He didn't have. He didn't have an ounce of confidence that what I needed, because I told Steve what I needed. I feel like I'm dying. I think I'm dying. My heart's like racing and doing stuff and I'm not breathing hardly. He didn't touch any of that. But can you. It said you may. It said you may be healed. You can be healed. Yeah. The prayer of a right. And right after it said that, it said the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person makes tremendous power of dynamic, filled with. Infused with the power of God. And so really we need to back up a little bit. And I mean, our very approach to God has to be from a place and an understanding of our righteousness in God because there's a whole lot of people. Come on. I might be looking at some of them here today, and you're certainly looking at a former one of them who for listen, years and years and years I didn't. I came so timidly scared to ask, scared. And so much of it was because I was more conscious of who I was than who he was. And if we can just. If we can just help all of us and me included, along these lines today, just a little bit before we actually get to prayer, I just think it's the right thing. There's a couple other verses that we'd have you look at. There's actually a lot of verses we could look at. I'm thinking Second Corinthians 5, if you go there, you doing well today. When we talk about righteousness, I want you to think of more than just right behavior. I want you to also think of a right nature, not just right behavior, also a right nature. And because of a right nature, that would lead to right behavior. But it comes that way, not the other way. And we understand that people have problems even approaching God, even Christians, even folk that received him that are born again because they're very aware of their shortcomings, their faults, their failures. How I've missed it. How I've missed it today. And they don't realize that so much of what goes through their head is the enemy accusing them of this and accusing them of that. And the whole purpose is to keep them from receiving from God. It just keeps them. If you can keep people at a distance from. From God, you can keep them from receiving right. How many know if the enemy could keep you out of this building today, he could keep you from some Things, right? Praise the Lord. And so we have to really be established, meaning not just hearing it one time, but hearing it to the degree that it. That it gets down on the inside of us and it really changes our thinking regarding who we are. You have to understand that I had. When I came to Christ, I was raised Jewish. And I don't mean a Jewish Christian, I mean raised in Judaism, going to Hebrew school three times a week until I was 13, having my bar mitzvah ceremony. And then as soon as I was done with that, I was like, okay, got enough of that. Like, because, you know, I can. I can. I could recite a lot of stuff in Hebrew, you know, I can't hardly do it now, but you just, like. All these prayers would roll off your tongue because you just prayed them. You did them so much. But it meant nothing to me. And it didn't bring me any life. Didn't impart life to my inner man. Didn't. Didn't satisfy me, answer my needs. And so when. I mean, when I got saved, I was so grateful that I experienced, like, the reality of God for the first time. But when I would get around other Christians, I kind of had this outsider mentality because, like, y' all grew up in this, you know, and. And I went from. I went from that to now I'm traveling in a Christian music group with people that were raised in this. And then I get to Brother Hagin's ministry. It's even worse. They were all raised, like, in church, in these Pentecostal churches. And I, like, barely spoke in tongues, you know. And so I really, for a lot of years, had this outsider mentality, like, I'm glad to be here, but I really don't feel like I belong here. And I would be the last one that ever would get. You know, God would use anybody before he'd use me. And just all that kind of thinking, right, well, what's that? What's that kind of thing do? It keeps you from partaking of what belongs, right? And it was just wrong thinking. How many know if you're a son or a daughter, you have full sonship, you have a place. But I felt like a guest in God's house that really didn't belong. And that's not from anything that God did, because how many know that the spirit that he gives us cries abba, Father, right? And I just. I was just overcome with these other thoughts that. Well, you know, I wasn't raised in this. Raised in this. I think about this. I'm just. I just am on the outside. And so I stayed out. I stayed out. I didn't pull up a seat to the table because I didn't feel like I belonged. I didn't meet Brother Hagin for several meetings because every time I saw him, I walked the other way. I was scared. I was scared. He's going. I was like, the prophet of God. He's going to know I don't really belong here. He's going to pick up on it and say, get. That guy doesn't belong. Get him out of here. That's why I didn't meet him. I didn't want to. Amen. But you got to know who you are and you got to act who you are. We getting anywhere today? You are welcome to. You know, of course. Interject, not interrupt. Interject. Praise the Lord. Talking to my wife. The one I call the greater one. Amen. Did you find Second. Second Corinthians 5. Did you find it all right? The 21st verse. For he has made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Friends, this is speaking of an exchange that took place. Are you hearing me? Jesus was made. Jesus didn't just gradually start sinning and keep sinning and keep sinning until he said, I feel like a sinner now. No, no, no, no. Jesus never sinned. Never sinned, but he was made sin. How did that happen? Well, Isaiah said upon him, he laid the iniquities of us all as the soul. When Jesus was paying the price, when he was being whipped, when he. When the nails were going in. In the spirit realm, God was laying upon. With. With the strike of that whip, God was laying sickness and disease on Jesus. And with the pounding of those nails, God was in the spirit realm, was laying the sin of the world on Jesus. Not because he deserved it. He deserved none of it because we deserved it. And Jesus became our substitute. He took our place and was made sin. Made sin. Not because he acted sinful. He didn't act sinful. He was made that way. He was made sin for us that we just in the same way that he was made just in the same way that our sin was placed upon him. We were made righteous. We were made the righteousness of God. Not because we started getting good and then acted better. And then it got better and it got to where, you know, I feel pretty godly. As he was made sin. So. Finger licking good. This is finger licking good, baby. Come on. KFC for everybody. Come on. As he was made sin so we were made righteous, you might say, well, I don't feel it. I can't help that. I'm sorry. It's too late. Have you been born again? Because being born again, that means you received this. You received this. See? Now turn to Romans, chapter five. It takes me about an hour to get warmed up, but then once I am, we can go. Come on now. Now, I want to say this. As you're turning to Romans, there are some people that are like, I just am. So. I'm so overcome with guilt, so overcome with condemnation. Well, what are you doing? Well, I'm sleeping with this person. Okay, wait a second, wait a second. There's another side to this, to this thing. In that case, you ought to be glad you're overcome with guilt. It's called conviction. And if you're sinning and you don't have any conviction, that's really bad. That means your conscience got seared from you ignoring it for so long. Now you don't even. Now you don't even sense any right or wrong to it. And that's danger. That is such a dangerous place. But you might be shocked to hear that the answer is you got to stop the sin. I mean, you can't. You got to do that. It's easy. Stop doing it. What? What? What do you mean, stop doing it? Yeah, yeah. You just stop. Stop. We had a guy in our church, past tense. I do tell people, first of all, my wife is the leader of the church. Thank you, Jesus. Because it's just best that way. And. But I do tell people, I said, listen, we will never share anything about your stuff as long as you're here. But once you leave, I'm no longer obligated to get. You are my sermon illustration. Anyhow, I was going to share about somebody, but I better not do that. Okay, so hallelujahs. You can't persist in. Oh, yeah, so there was a guy, because I think he gone. He gone. So anyhow, Understand this, that when a person first comes to Christ, God's so gracious, God's so merciful. And you can't. If you're. If you're going down the road, we'll get back to the semi truck, okay? If you're going down the road at 80 miles an hour in a truck, you can't just stop and turn around that thing in two seconds. I mean, it's going to take a little bit to slow ourselves down, find somewhere to turn it around. So, you know, he's living with a gal and she's not interested In Jesus. And he said, you know, by the time he came to us, he said, well, we are now. We are in separate bedrooms and this and that. We are not active in any, you know, way, really. And just. I don't even think we're going to keep dating on all that. I said, well, keep us posted. I said, that's. That's a good first step. But really, ultimately, the living together is just not a good. It doesn't even look. It doesn't look right, you know, and we're abstaining even from the appearance. How many know of evil? And so we talked. I didn't condemn them for that. I said, well, let's do what's right. But then it got to be, well, you know. Well, you know. Well, you know, she looks to me for support. You know, I support her. Well, you know, and actually, he did end up doing the right thing. Just took a really long time to do it. But I said, listen, if she's not interested in the things of God, just drop her off on the side of the road. Maybe that's not just the best witness. You know what I mean? But there is a way. My point is, there is a way. There is a way. There's always a way. Huh? Well, I just can't stop doing the drug. Well, stop buying them. Okay, so stop buying them. And the thing about it is, we have been empowered as believers to resist sin. Where the Bible says, sin shall not have dominion over you, that means it doesn't ever have to win, huh? Doesn't ever have to win. You can go to the Cheesecake Factory and just wave to them all. Now, that might not be sin for you, right? There's some things that are. That are okay for you, that you may. I may not. I may not. And I loved that Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. The whipped cream. Inject it. Oh, man. But I haven't. I haven't had a piece of it in so long that we went there the other day and they don't even have my kind of cheesecake anymore. They got rid of it because. No way. Because Joel wasn't there. Amen. They got rid of the best one. Hallelujah. Stop it. Stop it. So you found. Look at what time. It's almost. Okay, Romans, chapter five, and we'll try to wrap this up. Glory to God. The 19th verse says, for as by one man's disobedience. Who's that talking about? That's talking about Adam. For as by one man's dis. Disobedience. Many look at it were made sinners. So by the obedience of one. Who's that talking about Jesus? Who's called the last Adam. By the obedience of one shall many. Whoo. I'm happy because I'm included in that. Shall many be made righteous. Made righteous. Now, in the Old Testament, even Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. He was. I mean, even before Abraham, the Bible says Abel was considered righteous. Considered righteous, counted righteous, called righteous. That's what that was. That's what was available in the Old Testament. But now, because one was made sin for us, we're not just counted righteous, we're actually made righteous. Through the washing of regeneration, renewing of the Holy Spirit, we've been recreated on the inside. We're in Christ. And if any man help me. Is in Christ, he is a new creation. And so there's part of you. Your inner man has been recreated and is just like God. Amen. So much so. So much so that if you can real quick flip to First John 3, where we're going to conclude this homily as they say. First John 3. Oh, isn't the word good? You want to know how to preach? Let the Word do all the work. It makes it so easy. Make the word do the work. Oh, Jesus. Verse 7. First John 3, verse 7. Little children, let no man deceive you. Let no devil deceive you. Don't let your thoughts deceive you. Don't let how you feel feel deceive you. Come on. Don't let what you said to that person that you. Listen, if you repented to them, if you repented to God, you repented to them. If you confessed your sin. He is not unfaithful. He is faithful and just to forgive your sin and to cleanse you from all, all unrighteousness. We could say it this way and to cleanse you back unto righteousness and then so don't be. Let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous. I don't think enough people were reading along with me there. He that does. He that does righteousness. How many? How many here we're going to do some righteousness. He that doeth righteousness is righteous is righteous. How come been made that way. Been made that way is righteous even as or just as as he is righteous. Jesus. How many know Jesus is righteous? Jesus Christ the righteous is one of his names. Jesus as Jesus the righteous. He has a place at the right hand of. Of God, as close as you can Be. And we share his righteousness, and we share his place, and we share his access to the Father, which is why later in the chapter. And so. Oh, oh, oh. So. So what happens when you. You miss it and something on the inside of you starts to beat you up? Come on. Your heart condemns you. Which is actually later in this chapter, right? Chapter three, verse 21. Verse 20. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater. He's got a way. He's got a way to get you out. You confess your sins. Come on. He's faithful and just to forgive you. First, John 1:7 says, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Amen. Cleanses us back to righteousness. And so when you miss it and you repent, and which you. By the way, that's still a thing in 20, 24. And you repent and you confess, which confess just means to say the same thing. You agree with God that you, Father, you call this sin? I agree. I call it sin. And I turn from it and I forsake it. And I know that sin shall not have dominion over me. I didn't have to do this. I don't have to ever do it again. I won't do it again because I'll reach for your grace next time. And I won't let my mouth just go and run and say those kind of things, and I won't fly off the handle. Amen. And I won't yield, and I won't click on those things, and I won't. Come on. That's not. You agree? You say, that's not who I am. That's not. I've been made righteous. I've been made righteous. And you overcome that. You kick that condemnation out. You don't allow the condemnation to stay. And because. Because you do that, the ver. The next verse says, beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God. And what's the result of that confidence? And whatsoever we ask, we receive. Whatever we ask, we receive. And we're able to do what it says in Hebrews 4. We're able to come boldly, like we belong, like God. When you. When you designed that throne, you must have had me in mind, because I have as much right to be here as Jesus has a right to be here. Not based on my performance, based on his performance. And I just accept it. I receive it. I receive my forgiveness. Amen. I receive my cleansing. And then the next thought that comes to your head was, yeah, but this was the worst. And our job is to say that. Wait a second. That does not exist. It's been cleansed by the blood. And when God looks at me, he sees the blood. He does not see the sin that I confessed. It does not exist. It's been cleansed. It's been cleansed. It's been expunged. It's been obliterated. It does not exist. You know, you could get a record seal, a criminal record. You could get it sealed, and then you could get it unsealed to where the. No, no, no. Once it's under the blood, you can go to talk to God about it. And God will say, I don't know what you're talking about. So we just must honor what he's done for us. We must regard the blood as much as God regards it. We must see things like he sees it. And we'll realize. Wait a second. There's nobody who has any more right to approach the throne of God than me. Does my mind understand that? Not hardly. Not hardly. I wasn't raised in this. Sometimes I don't feel like I belong. Sometimes I feel like. Well, who cares how you feel? Who asked you how you feel? Tell me who you are. Tell me who you are. I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Glory. Hallelujah. Glory. It's worth shouting about. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. He made me that way. He made me that way. He made Jesus sin. He made Jesus sick. Amen. He made me healed. He made me rich. He made me free. He made me right righteous. Amen. Not by works of righteousness, which I have done, but according to his mercy, he has saved us. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Oh, it's so good. The Word. The Word's so good. The Word's so good. Remember, brother Ingalls, I am the righteousness of God in Christ. A brand new creation in him. You're to David Ingles. What's the next word? I'm a partaker of his divine nature. To me, the Lord will not impute sin. Amen. It's a good song. Listen, we want to pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. We're going to boldly come and listen the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person. Someone not just who has been made righteous, but someone who knows their place of access and knows their right to. A bold approach. Is security coming after me? Okay, it's those guys.

[A]

Praise the Lord.

[B]

Yeah, praise the Lord.

[A]

Listen, this is all about correct thinking. Correct thinking. We all have a filter. And I love what Pastor Nancy was saying last night, well, like all of it. Like all.

[B]

Every bit of it.

[A]

But one thing she. She was talking, I believe, in the offering, about how one of the biggest hindrances to our prosperity is our past. Because the way we've been raised and the way we've been raised to think a certain way. Oh, well, you can't. We can't. We can't have that. And so it, that when you get out into your Christianity and you get out into search, seeing what the word says about who you are and what you can have, when that word comes forth, it has to go through that filter of your past. And the enemy has worked hard to make that. You know, you have different mesh filters, right, or sieves or whatever in your kitchen, right? And depending on what you're. You know, you might want to be pouring out. You got coffee grounds in the. In the coffee pot. So you want to pour that coffee through. Well, you need a real fine sieve to pull. The enemy has worked hard to build a filter in you that is so tightly wound that the word of God can't reach your inner man, can't get to your spirit. And that's what we're talking about. You've been made the righteous, but you have to meditate on these verses because as soon as. As soon as the enemy sees you starting to approach the throne, you get a little glimmer of this and you're like. And as soon as you make that step, you hit your knees. The enemy's going to be there to say, oh, but not you. Oh, but you did this. Oh, but remember that. And you've got to be able to have these scriptures in you so strong that you can recognize. Wait a second. That's the enemy that's no longer there. And understand that I am able. Because of what he's done, I am able. So we have got to be vigilant. I mean, like a dog with a bone, you can't let go of these scriptures and realize, I have been made righteous.

[B]

It's who I am. It's who I am.

[A]

It's who I am.

[B]

I'm Joel the Just. Who are you?

[A]

Amy the Righteous.

[B]

Amy the Righteous. Joel the Just and whatever your name is. Yes. Let's pray some. Yeah.

[A]

Hallelujah.

[B]

Father, with what you've shown us today, by faith, we believe it. So we say it's so.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And we come, Father, boldly. It seems inconceivable that we can. But we can.

[A]

But we can.

[B]

And we do. And so we. We approach you, boldly thank you for. Father, look at where we are, Father. Look where you placed us. Look where you placed us.

[A]

Thank you. Thank you, Father.

[B]

At the throne of impossibility. No, impossibility, rather. At the place where. Where everything is easy. We're there. We're there. And so, Father, thank you. We want to come corporately today and just do our part in cooperation with. With the greatness and the grandness of your plan for our time.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Yes. Whoa. Glory to God. And so we thank you and. And say, by faith, Father, we have the fullness of the flow that you've led us into. We have the fullness of the miraculous. And, Father, I know what you show, what you showed me last night about the creative. The increase in the creative miracle miracles. We thank you for the fullness of it. Thank you that we have it. Yay. Thank you that it's ours. Thank you that needs are met in dramatic fashion. Glory to God. Thank you for the great testimonies that will accrue to your glory. Thank you, master. And thank you for the amazing Holy Spirit you've given us to give us utterance. We boldly yield to him now and pray along these lines for a few moments. Grow limbs, grow. In the maracustile. Rapan. Yes. Oh, yes.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

Oh, yes.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. Oh, we praise, we praise, we praise, we praise, we praise, we praise, we praise, we praise, we praise, we praise, we praise, we pray let's lift our voice in praise let's give thanks today because he's so gracious so good so much merciful, so true oh, there's nothing that he hasn't done and nothing that he wouldn't do so good, so good, so good, so good, so good we give you thanks we worship you we give you praise for you are good Bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you. Praise, praise, praise, praise praise, praise, praise we lift our voice and praise we lift our hearts and praise we lift our hands and praise we give you thanks today thank you, you, thank you, thank you, thank you, miracle God thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank.

[A]

You.

[B]

Thanks that you hear us thank you that you saved us thank you for your rescue thank you for all that you do thank you that you're holy thank you that we're now worthy we come before we stay right here Never have to leave or fear thank you for who you've made us what you've done thank you for the great, great great, great, great things to call. Oh, thank you, Father. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

[A]

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