16 July 2017 (11.30am service, New Creation Church at The Star
Vista)
- Sermon delivered by Pastor Joseph Prince
Sermon Notes (Note: These are personal notes
and not a transcription of the sermon.)
I.
Grace
Revolution
God
is restoring the gospel of grace. There is a grace revolution going on all over
the world.
Grace
is not a subject, it is the person of Jesus Christ.
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of
grace and truth.
Moses
was born when Israel was in slavery. That was the time where babies were thrown
into the River Nile by the Pharaoh.
However, when the world seemed to be at its darkest period, a deliverer of
Israel was born.
When
Christ was born, King Herod instructed his men to kill all infants below two
years old in Bethlehem. However, among the darkness, the Saviour was born.
II. How Favor Can Be Increased In
Your Life
God
has favor in your life but the favor can be enhanced.
There are things you do that could frustrate the favor of God.
Grace
is undeserved favor; unmerited favor.
When
God puts favor in your life, your enemies and critics cannot overcome it.
If
you are in business and people feel that they trust you and want to work with
you, it is favor from the Lord. There are diligent and trustworthy people who
may not be smooth in their businesses.
You
want the favor of God to be increased in your life, whether you are a businessman
or a homemaker.
Mothers
deal with life, precious lives. They are guiding them not just in life but
towards eternity.
The
first favor that we need is favor with our family.
So,
what frustrates the favor of God in your life?
The
answer is not sin.
“where sin increased, grace super-abounded”
Romans 5:20
And the
Law came-in-beside that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace super-abounded,
When Paul
preached the above, there was a misunderstanding that “only where there is sin
that grace can be super-abounded”:
Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer
in it?
It
is impossible for us to continue to live in sin once you are saved.
If
you are truly born again, you do not live in sin.
Romans 5:20-6:1
Moreover the law entered that the offense might
abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in
death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
What shall we
say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
“entered” – come in from the side, it is
alongside. Thus, it is not the main agenda.
“offense might abound”- law, like a spoon, stirs
up the residues within the water in a glass.
The
law points you to the need for Christ.
When
people sin, most people respond with shame. That response cannot help people to
receive grace. With shame and guilt, you cannot receive grace. For instance, a
man with alcohol problems cannot receive grace and gradually free from alcoholism
if he is filled with guilt all the time.
Grace
is not natural. If you think naturally, you cannot appreciate grace.
Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no
longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is
no longer work.
Grace
is the opposite of work.
Grace
is unmerited, unearned favor.
God
expects to see faith from you, then you can see the result. You walk by faith,
then you will see the result.
When
Nahshon
stepped into the red sea, God spilt the red sea open.
Matthew 1:1-6
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob,
and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar,
Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab
begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab,
Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David
the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of
Uriah.
Four women were mentioned in the genealogy. They are: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba).
They were mentioned to demonstrate God's grace. God can take unlikely people (prostitutes, a gentile and an adulteress) and use them in great ways.
God
is telling you that while you may fall into sin, that is not the end.
However,
it does not mean that you have to sin in order for grace to be super-abounded.
Because
of Jesus, sin does not define us finally.
Grace
does not increase by doing more but by resting more.
III.
Rest on Jesus
Pastor
spoke about “the law of first mention”. When
the subject is mentioned for the first time, it is very significant.
Genesis 6:8
But Noah (Hebrew:
rest) found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
“Grace”
was found here for the first time.
Noah (Hebrew):
rest
How to find
grace in your life? By resting more.
Water, when it
flows, it always goes to the lowest places. This is humility. It is a position
of rest.
We are
frustrating the grace of God without realizing it— with pride, with the
thinking that we are in control of things.
Speaking is
not Pastor Prince’s gift but this is where grace super abounds.
Thus, Pastor
is not proud of his ability to preach.
Just say, “God,
I rest in you.”
Rest, and you
will achieve.
When Pastor
was 8 and not yet a believer, he read the bible and realized how rested Jesus
was. He has accomplished many more in the 3.5 years than many people, in a
restful way.
Pastor had a
very hectic schedule in the recent trip to USA. Though tiring, the trip was fun
and fruitful. They had one day of rest during the trip and he watched Spider-Man
with the other pastors.
In the movie,
there was a segment where the ship is breaking apart. Without watching the
movie before, Pastor instinctively told another pastor that Spider-Man is going
to perform the gesture of the cross. True enough, he is holding the ship
together in the gesture of a cross.
Our Lord saved
the whole world at the cross. He was stuck at the cross and saved the whole
world. And He exists.
In Superman,
the father sends the son who has special power to the Earth. However, the son lives
like a common man. He will be supernatural at certain moments in life. Towards
the end, he dies to save the world. What’s next? There is the resurrection of Superman.
Does it sound familiar?
Our Lord is
the superman of supermen
Jesus is “complete
man and complete God”.
The Lord lives
in the rhythm of grace. He always has time.
He has been performing
miracles, traveling to different places to help people in the 3.5 years.
In one incident, Jesus was crossing the Lake of
Galilee just to deliver one man from demonic possession. The demon-possessed
man cut himself with stones. The devil tried to bring a storm to stop Jesus from
getting to the man.
Jesus was very tired after a long day, and he fell
asleep in the boat despite violent storms. His disciples were panic throughout
the stormy trip while Jesus was peacefully asleep. They eventually woke Him. He arose and rebuked the wind demonic
possession, and said to the
sea, "Peace, be still!" (Mark 4:39). But He said to them, "Why
are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" (Mark 4:40).
Upon landing,
He went to the man and cast the demon out of him.
The
man was seated, clothed, and in his right mind. He went and became an evangelist
in ten cities. And all the people were amazed.
We
need more of this in this world today.
How
grace can be increased, the number one way:
2 Peter 1:2
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
It
is our natural tendency to want to do more. Learn to rest.
Do
so is not according to nature. It is according to God. Learn the God’s way.
John 5:19-20
Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most
assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees
the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things
that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you
may marvel.
If
you know Jesus, you will know the Father.
Jesus rose
from the dead. On the same day, two depressed disciples were walking to a
village called Emmaus. Jesus
asked them why they were sad (Luke 24:13-35).
Jesus
restrained their eyes from seeing who He is.
Pastor
Prince had been asking himself last time—why did Jesus want to restrain their
eyes?
Eventually,
he received a revelation: Jesus opened the Book of Moses and showed them things
concerning Himself.
They
did not know who He was but He brought them out of depression.
Do
point others to Jesus when they face problems.
Many
of us “use” Jesus during times of difficulty, for salvation, and then forget
about him.
The two
disciples told Him- they thought that Jesus was the person who was going to
redeem Israel.
What
they focused on was Israel, not Jesus. However, if you focus on Jesus, your
life will be blessed.
Pastor
said—you should see more of Jesus, not Pastor Prince.
2 Peter 1:2 (AMP)
My grace (God’s favor) and peace (which
is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and
freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to
you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord.
Pastor
said to the husbands—if you know how much Christ loves you, you can pour the
same love to your wife.
God
made all kinds of animals to come before Adam. God created animals in twos—
male and female, then man realized he was alone. God created the latest
creation— the woman, and the last creation should be the most beautiful
creation after many practices. God put man to sleep to create the most
beautiful thing while the man was sleeping/resting.
If
Jesus came before the law, men will not see that they need a savior. Thus, God
gave law first, so that men will see the need for a savior.
“God, I give up” are the best words to God.
The
first area that we should ask for favor is our family.
At
the deathbed, you will not regret not earning another million dollars. You will
regret not spending enough time with the family. Time will not come back.
There
is no word for husband or wife in the bible.
There
are only man or woman. You need to read the context to know what the “man” or “woman”
is referring to.
In
Hebrew, there is no word for husband or wife.
This
is another wisdom of God: When husbands look at women, they differentiate— this
is my wife, that is a woman.
Man
must realise that “this is your woman”, and not a “wife” that he can take her
for granted.
IV. God Will Never leave You
God
will never leave you. We have God’s constant presence.
Solomon
wrote 1500 songs. Among all the song, God taught so much about one song, the
Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) because it deals with the greatest theme of
all- the love of Jesus.
Song of Solomon 5:2-6
The Shulamite I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is
the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, "Open for me, my sister, my
love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with
the drops of the night."
I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I
have washed my feet; How can I defile them?
My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door, And
my heart yearned for him.
I arose to open for my beloved, And my hands dripped
with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock.
I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned
away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could
not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
She
did respond to His love. She saw the nail-pierced hands.
When
He was gone, the woman looked and sought for Jesus.
Song of Solomon 5:9-12
The
Daughters of Jerusalem What is your beloved More than another beloved, O
fairest among women? What is your beloved More than another beloved, That you
so charge us?
The
Shulamite My beloved is white and ruddy, Chief among ten thousand.
His
head is like the finest gold; His locks are wavy, And black as a raven.
His
eyes are like doves By the rivers of waters, Washed with milk, And fitly set.
Song of Solomon 5:9-12 gives the description of Jesus.
When
she described Him, He appeared.
When
we talk to others about Jesus, we sense the presence of Jesus again
Children,
when they are smaller, they want you to do things for them. However, when they
are older, they are frustrated when you do too much for them. Sometimes, it is
because we are anxious, and thus we are not at rest.
Similarly,
we should rest in receiving grace.
