Sermon Notes 29/12/13
38k attendance is the highest this year. Average attendance 30k
Something good is going to happen to u in 2014
God has laid up His goodness for u. Blessed be the LORD who has DAILY… Every single day, loaded them w benefits.
Even Jesus spoke about the Acceptable year of The Lord. God has timings. Chronos or seasons for everything that He does. God works w time. He created time.
Our body operates on a 7d cycle. Our cells are renewed every 7y. We should be getting younger but just like in those days when we had VHS video, the more u duplicate the more the quality drops and the film ages. Cells age too but if u learn from the bible to renew youth like the eagles, u will have ultra HD health. Learn to set the tone at the start of the year and believe God for good health.
June- Ps P has 1.6m likes on FB. He warns us about many fake JP Acc out there. He doesn’t solicit for money on FB so pls be careful.
Open doors for NCC this year. We might be the largest church in SG now but that is NOT important. What is impt is we can touch hearts for Jesus. We just opened our Causeway Pt extension and many Malaysians have been packing the place up. We have also started GV at Great World.
Another breakthrough for Pastor this year was hitting the NY Times bestseller list- considering only the sales within USA, not what we purchase in SG. The LORD has somehow given favour to this book.
There will be people who always says things about Ps but u know if u have been here for at least two years that our church runs after Jesus and Pastor too runs after Jesus. We can’t stop gold from running after us as a result of running after Jesus first and foremost.
He doesn’t draw a salary from anywhere and he has been checked by the best. If he wants to really make money he would travel all the time. He receives hundreds of invites to America and they give u good honorarium and can sell books. If he wanted to be wealthy, every mth will travel. Invites flow, everything is paid for. He was invited to be a keynote speaker with Joel at TD Jakes conference for 70000 ppl. Ps goes where Jesus tells them to go, not for money. He wants to be accountable to us and preaching here he isn’t paid haha but praise God that this volunteer gets to preach here every week. And he clarifies he isn’t a multi millionaire yet- not even a million. We trust God that money is a tool we can use. He believes he will be able to pay off his home someday. Now still renting. He tried staying in HDB but people came to his door step. Tried staying at condo, people would leave pray requests on the car. Lol. He tells us to pls approach other pastors in church too haha. Don’t let them be underworked. The other pastors draw salary haha. He had no choice but to stay private property for his family’s safety. He says he is the richest man in the world when he gets to hold his family in his arms. If he does travel to preach it isn’t for money but only if God guides him to.
Isaiah 49:24- shall the prey be taken from the mighty or the lawful captive delivered?
Note lawful. Devil is not all powerful but capitalises on man’s sin which is like rolling red carpet to the devil.
God made Adam &Eve to enjoy His goodness. Love defined. Wants to pour out his love on mankind.
What is sin? God have man a choice.
Some people ask HOW COME
GOD ALLOWS BAD THINGS TO HAPPEN?
We are in a fallen world. God gave this earth to men to enjoy His love but He didn’t make men to be a robot. If men obeys God like a robot, there would be perfection. But God gave men free choice and this entails risks. He made everything good but set aside that one tree for men to show how they honour Him. Must have a choice for free choice to have an expression. Devil tempted men and men fell.
God could have stopped men but He didn’t because it is free choice. If men uses free choice wrongly, God stops him then free choice was a farce. Won’t be righteous of Him.
God didn’t make men to experience the bad stuff but ian brought all these evils into the earth.
Sin is in essence saying I dun trust u God, I trust Satan. God u are holding back from me and Satan will give me what I desire.
Satan sets a trap. Like mousetrap w a cheese.
U are made in God’s image. The devil can’t get to God but u are made in His image. Devil hates u but God loves u.
The triune God- the son came in the form of a baby- came as the last Adam to redeem what the first Adam forfeited.
God is a mystery. Praise God we don’t ustd everything about Him coz that enables me to worship Him. I can’t ustd how the God whom universes depend on came to be a helpless baby dependent on his mum.
He was born so He would have flesh and blood to be shed for our sins.
PP’s mum is a Bibik and his uncle is a Baba. His uncle had a son who loved to gamble and try to be as rich as fast as possible. Heard that someone involved in the realm of darkness for 4 numbers. One night, this cousin dreamt that an ugly and grotesque creature have him 4numbers. He bought it and won. That same week, his uncle dropped dead. Once u touch the devil’s belongings, he has u as a lawful captive. This cousin is now saved. PRAISE GOD.
Ignorance is no excuse. God’s Word is a declaration of liberty for us. It says His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Sin is saying to devil I trust u over God.
There are believers who are lawful captives – addicts for eg. But thank God for Jesus who came to take away the legal right from the devil by His finished work.
Exagorazo- By payment of a price to recover from the power of another; redeem
To buy out from the market for a price.
How can the lawful captive be delivered? By a price. Can we pay the price for each other? No. We have sin. None of us can pay so Jesus came so as to buy us out from the market place of sin, sickness and death by paying the price- His blood
Our blood is tainted w sin. Jesus blood came all the way from the Father. His blood didn’t come from Mary. Placenta brings in food and excretes waste. No blood from mother goes to baby.
The love of God paid a ransom to the justice of God. Nothing to devil which is just a thorn in the flesh. Devil is just an accuser. Jesus paid God. We owe God a debt we can’t pay, Jesus paid God a debt he didn’t need to pay.
How is God righteous yet loving? – that answer is found in the cross
All that we have robbed God of, Christ became
Our substitute and paid God back many folds over what He was robbed off. His death has glorified God in the very place of Sin.
The bible says “exagorazo” used in Gal 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. What is this curse? Have u obeyed the Ten Commandments? James 2 tells us breaking one law means we break all the laws and will be cursed. This is what Jesus redeemed us from.
Deut 28- v1-13 lists all the blessings and v14-68 is list of curses which is extensive and detailed.
Ps asked God why list curses in detailed vs blessings? God told him people know what blessings are but many people dunno when they are being cursed. Some accept sickness and don’t see it as a curse
In Jan this year, a NCCer was told he had stage 4 cancer. Ps said in Jan also in sermon that some of u have cancer but u will not die and will be healed. This man now came and visited Ps Lawrence at Prayer and Healing room and is TOTALLY HEALED of cancer!
Important u are in the right church. Some pastors say that all sickness brings glory to God in some mysterious way. Ps says should we then pray for these pastors for their family to fall ill so they will bring glory to God that way? These people will tell u sickness gives God glory but if they fall sick, go see doc to be healed. What about God’s glory?
Sick people are like sheep that have fallen into a pit. Get them out. Don’t ask them to search their hearts first before u get them out.
Fear is one of the curses. Christ has redeemed us from our fear.
We are no longer under the law. We no longer have to fulfill the commandments anymore. Christ fulfilled them all.
The blessing is with us wherever we are. Christ redeemed me from this so I can be blessed whether I am in the city or country.
Deut28:9- prosperity is a blessing. Curse is when we can’t prosper. Some evangelicals who are against prosperity are so hypocritical. They own huge homes and many cars. When is poverty a blessing?? It is a curse. God doesn’t want us to run after money, but wants money to run after us. He wants us to run after Him.
Prosperity is not the gospel but the gospel produces prosperity.
Being oppressed and depressed is a curse. Jesus has paid for it so we can be released from it in Jesus name! A holy violence- how can this thing belong in my life when Jesus has paid and redeemed me from this?
Kids under influenced by other people and listen to others/ outside influence. U brought them forth but someone has influence over them. This is a curse. Christ has redeemed them from this for u.
V 60-61 — every sickness and plague discovered or not, u are redeemed from it. All the tenses here- God will bring= permissive tense. Allows it. Not He brings it. But now under new covenant, He has brought us out from the curses of the law and the blessings keep on keeping on.
V67- Christ has bought u out of this curse because He paid the price for it.
V68- last six words of the list of curses— u will be sold as a slave and no one will buy u. But JESUS DID. He bought u. Redeemed u.
Why are some believers lawful captives?
Gal 3:5-14
When Hod supplies in the Spirit to u and works miracles in ur life, is it because of your works or because you have been hearing the word on the righteousness of faith. Go back to hearing the Good News when u receive bad news. When u are hearing, God is working miracles. Not abt how good u obeyed the laws or kept them. The sick were hearing when Jesus was preaching. They were not doing. Hearing, hearing and hearing.
An American lady whose 2yo son was diagnosed w Leukaemia. Shook her to the core. As a parent she longed to take his place and wondered why he was going through this trial. During this time, her husband started to listen to Ps Prince sermon. He bought 8 front row tickets and didn’t know it was a first come first served basis. Sat high up in the theatre. Felt it was meant to be that they were seated there. Woke up next morning and cried and FT God ask her why did she limit God when he so wanted to bless him. Felt the service was a celebration of her son’s healing. A few days later, her son was healed and declared free of every trace of leukaemia. 😀
One of the Daystar leaders had an injury. He couldn’t straighten his finger. But after the conference his finger could bend. He was healed because he heard.
Abraham was not a perfect man- lied twice that Sarah was his sister to save his own skin. Abraham lived more than 400y before the Ten Commandments and had none of them to keep. That is because he believed the same grace we do.
Tell the story of the stars, Abraham- astronomy. Not astrology. God put the story in the constellations. (We are born under the bright and morning star if someone asks u what star u are born of.)
The Magi read the constellations and prophet Mica had predicted the King would be born in Bethlehem.
The gospel in the stars begin by showing Virgo- a woman with a baby… Ends with Leo- the lion of Judah!
There is a sign from many years ago- the Sphinx- head of woman and body of lion. Put there by men who knew the stars- starts w woman and ends w lion.
Galatians 3:5-14
Justified by faith. – made right by a gift. God preached the gospel to Abraham by the stars. Faith here is justification by faith. Not healing faith or prosperity faith. Actively believe righteous by faith, become beneficiaries of Abraham’s blessings. He sinned but still blessed, we are blessed w Abraham. Not Elijah, not Moses.
Why some Christians come under the curse?
V10- everyone (believer or unbeliever), the moment they come under the law, will come under the curse. Not when they break the law. They are doing their best with their good intention to uphold the law, come under the curse. They can keep 25 laws but can’t keep the 26th, will come under curse. With the law is perfection. Those who fight for the law try to keep it to show how good they are when Law is here to show us how bad we are. Self righteousness. This verse doesn’t say those who sin are cursed. It says those who are self righteous are cursed.
Thank God every morning for the blessings that overtake u because of faith not because of what u do.
Faith believes. Work does.
Believe by faith= blessed. Those who try their best to think straight, behave good = come under curse.Â
If u are believing u can’t be doing. If u are doing u can’t be believing. Sin doesn’t negate faith. Sinners could touch Jesus and receive healing. We have lied to those who said they can’t receive healing coz they sinned. Pharisees couldn’t receive coz under law.
A lady’s body was shutting down coz her meloma was rejecting calcium from her body. Husband’s a preacher. They started taking holy comm and reading every day from Destined to reign devotional book. 7m later, docs said she was in total remission from stage 4 multiple meloma. Healed in August this year. Cancer free and stronger bones and thicker hair than before. If God is for us, who can be against us?
Make this year 2014 a year that u hear the Word. Don’t go and listen on this case, that case, this basket case, that typhoon. Those can’t help u. Hear the Word.
Fresh revelations-
Matt10:8
Freely u have received. Freely give.
The context is heal the sick, cleanse the lepers
We don’t freely give because we don’t think we feely received
Freely – ‘Dorean ‘- undeservedly and gratuitously.
Healing is given freely. Prob is the church has given too many obstacles for people to overcome to receive. They aren’t receiving their healing freely because don’t realise they have been freely given. “You get right first and be disciplined first then come back for healing. U think grace is cheap? U go pray until U have forgiven everyone then come back.” That’s not what Jesus said.
The bible says everyone came to Him and as many as touched Him, were made whole. It is not them. It is Him. It is not how good they were, but how good He is.
Everyone who came to Jesus, none left without their needs met.
Some pastors say —> healing needs one to pay a price, it is not cheap. And u must be a special class to pray for healing for a leper or u touch the leper u get sick ah. And before u raise the dead ah… U must have at least a diploma and only for people who pray in tongues for many hours. So u don’t dare attempt to raise the dead ah. U better know ur life is clean before u cast out demons. LOL!!!!
No wonder people aren’t free. What has the church been preaching? Healing is a gift that focuses on how good the physician is and not how bad the sick person is. We have taken people’s eyes off Him and on themselves.
There is a gospel revolution going on worldwide.
Some people “Eh this one got cancer. Must pray harder.” “How to pray hard?” “Press harder” Then the pastor goes and press the tumour hard.
It isn’t the prayer. It is who u are praying to. The simpler ur prayer, the more u demo that it is Him. “Lord, this is easy for u. Be healed in Christ. Amen!”
It also isn’t about how “hallelujah” the atmosphere is when u pray.
Prov 26:2 KJV
The curse causeless shall not come —- Jesus by His blood has removed every curse
Causeless
Chen- God’s grace. “Speak to your mountain grace grace”— CHEN CHEN (pronounced as Hen)
Causeless = Hen= undeserved
The curse by grace will never come. The undeserved curse cannot come on u when u are living under the realm of grace.
Isaiah 49:24-25
God will contend with him who contends with us and will save us!
– his answer to the question at the start of the sermon.
Thank you for your and God’s grace….Shalom