Look to Jesus— The Perfect Man

6 November 2016 (5.30pm service, New Creation Church at Star Vista)

- Sermon delivered by Pastor Joseph Prince

 Sermon Notes (Note: These are personal notes and not a transcription of the sermon.) 

I.           Walk by faith and not by sight

With the turmoil that is going on in the world, God is in control.

God is sovereign. Our eyes are fixed on those that we can see. The key word here is “look”, and the devil wants us to look at all these things. We walk by faith and not by sight.

Repentance towards God is about changing our mind about God, to know that God is not against us, and God is for us.

Thus, we have to know that God is for us in the midst of current situation, even if things are difficult.

We are not a face in the crowd to God.

God loves you. He loves you by name. He knows the number of hair on your head.

Don’t think that “God doesn’t bother with small things”. Thus, we should cast all our cares to Him, because He cares for us.

Devil can bother a child of God this question-

“Are you progressing spirituality?”

Some people think that the accumulation of knowledge is growth, but it is not. You know you are growing spiritually when you are more carefree, when you let go more. Thus, in our life, we should not be worried about our growth, our children’s growth. The one thing that hinders growth is worry.

In our Christian life, it should be spiritual looking, and not visual looking. In God’s system of things, what is invisible is eternal. God people should walk by faith and not by sight!

There are people whose faith is not strong, and just look at what the devil is doing around the world. If you can see what the devil is doing, reverse it, and you can see what God is doing. God is releasing a new anointing of healing in the whole world. We are going into a place of glory.

In our life, is the devil attacking us? If so, God is actually doing something to us prior to the attack.

When Christ was born, it was not “visual”, it was not in the news, and it did not garnered attention from the masses. However, the devil knew about his birth. The devil instigated King Herod to kill all infants below two years old in Bethlehem:

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. (Matthew 1:16)

While that happened, God was raising champions for the world!

Killing of Innocents by Herod, Leon Cogniet,1824

God is releasing a new anointing and the devil is reacting in our world now.

What is the devil doing in our life now?
All these that can be seen are temporal. What cannot be seen is external. The devil wants you to be in that realm and if you are in that realm, you are defeated.

II.        The Gospel of Luke

Luke is the beloved physician.

Why do we study the four gospels?
This is God’s way of doing things, and his way he brings blessings to our life. We can experience breakthroughs in our life and bring our life from one level to another by focusing on his son— the Lord Jesus Christ.

God thinks so much of His son that one account on its own is not enough.

Pastor received a testimony the day before about someone who read through the gospels and got healed. Pastor preached a few weeks ago that if we need healing, we can focus on the miracles in the gospels. Even when we are emotionally troubled, depressed, or can’t sleep at night, we can read the gospels.

The Holy Spirit was the author of the all gospels. The evangelists are just secretaries. God used their personality to write the gospels.

Matthew, the tax collector, used the expression “kingdom of heaven” and this expression is found only in the Gospel of Matthew as he was writing for the Jews.

In the Gospel of John, he is always in the bosom of Jesus, receiving the love of the Lord.  

Mark was a servant who failed who wrote about the perfect servant. He is thus the servant who failed who wrote about the unfailing servant.

What about Luke?

Luke is a gentile Christian. He is the only gentile among the evangelists. He is the “beloved physician”. He was Paul’s traveling companion. He also wrote the Acts.

Gospel of Luke is about the perfect man.

The Gospel of John was about the divine love from the Lord. Thus, there is no genealogy

There is also no genealogy in Mark who wrote about the perfect servant. The servant is there to serve. One doesn’t ask the servant about the family line.

There was genealogy mentioned in Matthew and Luke. Matthew portrays Jesus as the King of the Jews. The genealogy of Matthew started with Jesus as the Son of David. The emphasis is on the throne and the man. The Gospel of Luke went all the way back to Adam. His genealogy starts from Adam, the man. Luke portrays Jesus as the Son of man, and shows the growth of Jesus.

Why did God chose a doctor to write a gospel?

A doctor is intimate with man.
There are things that you are vulnerable to the doctor but may not reveal to other people around you.

We could see “The son of man” expressed much more in the gospel of Luke.

Luke opened the gospel with a priest— a dumb priest.

Luke 1:4-5
That you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Here, Luke wrote to Theophilus.

While prophets represent God to man, priests represent man to God. Priests represent grace in bible. It is known as Priestly Grace.

The bible is the only thing that you can hold in your hands, to know that words of God are not theories but certainty.

All the books in the bible are about the very first part. What it opens with will tell u the theme of each book.

The Gospel of Luke opens with a priest, and priest has to do with man.

Luke 1:9

according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

When you learn to lift Jesus up, it’s incense to God. Don’t focus on creation, focus on redemption.

Luke 1:62-64
So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled.  Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.

The priest Zacharias is dumb and deaf, as he “made signs”. He can’t hear them. He is a dumb and deaf priest. However, our High Priest Jesus today hears us and blesses us.

This is where first mention of a writing tablet is found in the New Testament, which represents grace. The name John means grace.

First mention of the writing tablet is the writing of the Ten Commandments on the tablet, and it signifies demand.

Luke 24:50-53
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.

In the last chapter of Luke, Jesus went to Bethany. Now we have a company of priests and they are not dumb. We have the High Priest who is blessing us and hears our cries. We are not under law but under grace.

We will see the old fulfilled in the new. And the old unveiled Jesus.

The Gospel of Luke opens with a dumb priest, closes with a High Priest.

III.      Jesus in the Centre of My Life

Leviticus 14:1-4

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "This shall be the law of the leper for the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest. And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him; and indeed, if the leprosy is healed in the leper, then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living and clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.

The leper “shall be brought to the priest”. So, who brought the leper there?
Holy Spirit.

It is just like we were brought by the Holy Spirit here.

If Jesus is not in the centre, many things will not seem to be right.

If you are “split”, you are not focused. You need Jesus in the centre of your life.

Numbers 5:2

"Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.

The order of healing as recorded by Luke is:
1. Every leper
2. Everyone who has a discharge
3. Whoever becomes defiled by a corpse

Under law, the above people will all be put “out of the camp”

Numbers with God is important.

Hebrews 13:13 (13 words)
Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

The above was written to Jewish people. Jesus is outside the camp of law. He is not crucified within the boundary of law.

In our work, whatever things we do, when we do it for the Lord, and we will receive our rewards.

“Him” is the middle word. God is telling us— see Him, see Him, see Him and you will blessed; see him and you will be healed; see him and you will be delivered; and see him and you will have a long life.

Luke 2:28-21

He [Simeon] took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."

Simeon who saw the baby Jesus said he can now die in peace after seeing Jesus. Seeing Jesus can enable us to be strong, and have the qualities of perseverance and endurance.

Deuteronomy 34:7
Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.

Hebrews 11:27
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

“he endured as seeing Him who is invisible”

 “Endured”, as a noun in Greek is Kratos, the word for power/strength. Thus, he remained strong by seeing Him who is invisible.

While you look at your x-ray or medical reports, the devil wants you to look at the physical realm.

Let’s look at 31 October. 31 October is Reformation Day. It is a religious holiday celebrated on 31 October, together with Halloween.

Traditionally, 31 October 1517 was the day German monk Martin Luther nailed his thesis that we are under grace not under law.

To hallow is "to make holy”. However, the devil hijacked that religious holiday and let the people forget about the day, by having Halloween to overshadow the Reformation Day.

The devil blinds the mind of the people, so that they will not be listening to the Gospels.

See what the devil is afraid of— he is afraid of Jesus Christ. An analogy is a wife who covers the eyes of a man who look at a beautiful woman.

Every word in the bible is inspired by God, but not every word is from the gospel, which is the good news.

Jesus gives us the repentance. Thus, even the repentance in us is given by Him.

IV.       I am the Lost Sheep— my personal testimony

Pastor shared that we did not find Jesus, but He found us. We are the lost sheep.

I am the lost sheep, He sought me out. I was lost, and He found me. He put me on His strong shoulders.

Whenever Pastor mentioned that we were the lost sheep, and God sought us out, I have a strong urge to share my testimony, and here, I am sharing my testimony of how I turned Christian. While Buddhism and Taoism are mentioned in my testimony, I have to say that I do not go against these religions. In fact, I highly respect the philosophies of these religions and those who teach or practice them.

This is my personal testimony:

I had been an ardent practitioner of Taoism and Buddhism of various traditions since I was a teen until 2009. I attended numerous intensive Buddhist teachings and retreats that lasted from three days to a month in Singapore, Nepal and India. I even had a Buddhist master whom I met at least once a year in either Singapore or Nepal between 1999 and 2008 for spiritual guidance.

Despite saying so, I went to Israel with a friend on a backpack and visited some of the important Christian sites as a tourist/non-believer in 1996. I attribute my conversion to Christianity in 2009 as a calling from God. I was found by God as I was not actively seeking for Him. Thus, I was able to strongly relate to Pastor Prince’s message when he said that God will look for me as I am the one who is lost, and I do not have to search for God as it is not God who has lost the way. The sudden conversion shocked many close friends and family members. 

A few weeks before my conversion, I was attending a theatre camp with my performers. In the camp, I spoke of Christianity with the tone of a pastor in my sleep for two days in a row. As a committed Buddhist practitioner who had never thought about entering into other religions, this was unbelievable. However, my friend, a fellow Buddhist who shared the same room with me affirmed that I spoke at length in favour of Christianity with an authoritative tone in my sleep for two nights. She elaborated that I made comparisons between Buddhism and Christianity, and made arguments in favour of Christianity.

I told myself that I would try attending a service at NCC. I chose to go to NCC as I remembered someone telling me that NCC would not judge and condemn people but the church accepts all types of people. Of course, in a multiracial society like Singapore, I have been following my friends to churches since I was a teen as a form of social event. However, I had never accepted what the pastors shared.

While I said to myself that I would try attending NCC, I didn’t bring myself to NCC the following week. I went to Bukit Timah hill to run on the following Sunday with my friend instead. Then after the run, when we were at the foot of the hill, there was a heavy downpour of rain all of a sudden. We ran to a row of shop houses at the bottom of the hill for shelter. Someone invited us into one of the shop houses.

A church was conducting a service in there. The attendees were mainly secondary school students. The service started in three minutes after we went in. Strangely enough, that was the first time I agreed with what the young pastor preached.

So, I told myself that I must really try attending NCC. Thus, I attended NCC the following week, and during the first church service, I accepted Christ immediately, without a shadow of doubt.

The week after that, before I reached Rock Auditorium at Suntec for service, uncontrollable tears flowed throughout the day from morning until the night though I was out with a friend, whom I brought to attend the service with me. For a person who puts on make-up when I am out, it was not logical for me to shed tears and ruin the make-up that I had on! However, I cried as I simply felt the presence of Daddy God. I know that Daddy God loves me genuinely and that all my sins are forgiven. 

This is my story of how I became a Christian. Nothing complex, but an intense experience.

V.          As He is, so are we in this world.

1 John 4:17
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

“because as He is, so are we in this world.”

He is there as a High Priest, a man, representing you and I.

God is judging you according to His son, not according to who you are. Thus, put your eyes on Jesus.

Pastor shared a testimony of a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer who proclaimed, “Does Jesus have lump in His breasts? If he does not have the lump, as He is, so is she in this world!” When she went for another medical examination again, the lump was gone.

Thus, we can always declare, “Lord Jesus, as you are free right now from _______ (an illness you have), so am I in this world.”

Another testimony shared by Pastor is written from a woman from Minnesota. She was diagnosed with throat and neck cancer. She watched Pastor Prince on TV who preached 1 John 4:17, and started to declare, “Because Jesus have cancer, so am I in this world.”

Just before she has to go for her scheduled surgery, the doctor told her that there was no need for surgery as there was no cancer.

VI.       Conclusion

We are in a world where it is not natural to look at Jesus. It is a fight. A fight of faith. The only thing that we can’t have that Jesus has right now is the glorified body. However, the healthy life is something that has already began here.

We should think of ourselves as a resurrected being in this body. Our resurrection life has already begun when we placed our faith in Christ.

Luke 18 and 19 are not in chronological order.

These are chapters in Luke that contrast law and grace. While great multitude came after Jesus, they may come due to curiosity.

While a boastful man asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  (Luke 18), Jesus gave him the commandments. Jesus was testing him as he was boastful. Jesus gave him the law, and his heart was shut.

In Luke 19, Jesus invited himself to the house of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. Over there, He didn’t command the repentance. He produced repentance. The tax collector was not given any law, he was given grace and he became generous.

In Luke chapter 7, Jesus went to a Pharisee's house, and a woman came to start weeping and kissing his feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. This account was only recorded in the Gospel of Luke:

Luke 7: 36-38

And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

The Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner." (Luke 7: 39)

Following this, Jesus indicated to the Pharisees that the more people are forgiven, the more they will not sin, and will love him more and forgiven much:

Luke 7:40-50

And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it." "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?" Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

There is another incident where Jesus healed a woman on a Sabbath day, the Pharisees said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day." (Luke 13:12-14).

Luke 13:14-16:

The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound--think of it--for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?"

You don’t blame the ox or donkey from falling into the pit. Thus, similarity, Jesus does not blame the sick/weak people.

Pastor is aware that there are people who have been taking down sermon notes. I am one of those who take down sermon notes so that I can share the notes, as well as to get in touch with the notes on a deeper level. However, Pastor emphasizes that taking down notes is not enough. We should keep hearing the Word, and thus, we should listen to the preached Word again and again, and we will have new revelations each time we listen. Constantly hearing the Word will deliver God’s healing and protection!