These are notes on the sermon, Believe Right And See Your Youth Renewed, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 12 May 2019, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Every time we come to God’s house, we get stronger, healthier, and more restful.
Pastor Prince shares with the congregation a word from the Lord: Slow down before it’s too late.
He speaks to people with heart palpitations, sharing that it’s not necessarily because of heart problems—they just need to slow down in life.
Don’t move at cheetah speed when God has made you to move at camel pace.
Pastor Prince shares how there are now mobile applications which provide summaries of books for you. But the truth is, enjoying a good book in full helps our minds to slow down.
Don’t go to bed but have your mind still moving at top gear. It’s like having your car stationary but the engine still running—it’ll break down eventually.
Pastor Prince shares how he was learning about the process of molting for birds (how they shed old feathers to make way for new growth). It’s a picture of renewal of youth.
It’s recommended that bird owners stroke the birds’ feathers with warm water during this period because they need extra moisture. Similarly:
God gave us nights for sleeping—not for gaming or watching dramas—and Sundays for rest. Even God rested after creation, not because He was tired, but because His work was finished.
Learn to live life steady in His rhythms of grace.
If the healing you’re believing God for isn’t manifesting, it’s most likely because you’re wound up with stress and anxiety.
The Hebrew word for “heal,” rapha, comes from the root verb raphah, which means “to relax, to let go.”
There is healing in meditation: Not emptying your mind, but filling it with God’s Word. The origin of the word “medicine” is “meditate” too. We can meditate on promises like this:
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.”
— Psalm 1:2–3 NKJV
Pastor Prince shares how there seems to be a new generation that’s not exposed to how faith—the essential currency of heaven—works. It works by believing and speaking right.
We say and blog about things without realizing the power of words.
Under the New Covenant today, the lack of blessings in a believer’s life is not due to lack of devotion, but a lack of faith (believing right).
“And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:13 NKJV
“we also believe and therefore speak” — Long before you see good things in your life, you must believe in your heart. You must believe that God’s Word transcends every other word. He cannot lie. As Matthew 12:35 says, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth (manifests) good things.”
Some believers believe God’s promises to them, like how He satisfies us with long life, by His stripes we are healed, how He blesses us with wonderful families—but they don’t say it. Instead, they complain about their circumstances.
There are also believers who speak God’s promises all the time, but don’t believe it in their hearts.
Either way, faith is not released in their lives.
Let’s find out the secret to having faith operate in your life from Abraham and Sarah’s story in the Bible.
If you need a breakthrough in your business or you are believing for a harmonious family life, faith can make that happen.
Abraham and Sarah wanted a child for years, but could not conceive.
God brought Abraham (then Abram) outside his tent one night and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be” (Gen. 15:5).
But Abraham’s first child, Isaac, only arrived more than 20 years after God made this promise to him. We’re going to find out why.
“count” — This is the word “caphar” in the original Hebrew, which can mean “count,” but also means “to narrate or recount” something.
God was essentially recounting the Gospel story written in the stars to Abram, as fathers in Israel would tell their children in those times.
The 12 constellations represent the 12 tribes of Israel, and begins with Virgo (a picture of a mother and child), which fulfills the first Bible prophecy:
“And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
— Genesis 3:15 NKJV
“He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” — This speaks of how our Lord Jesus would come by a virgin birth (as depicted in Virgo by a mother and child). He would bruise Satan’s head. Jesus has disarmed the king of terror, Satan. Satan’s only power now is to go around deceiving us and trying to make us live in the realm of senses, appearances, and feelings.
The constellations end with Leo, which depicts Jesus as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (see Rev. 5:5).
The constellation of the Southern Cross, which mariners lost at sea would look at to find their way, also represents the cross.
Therefore when God told Abraham, “So shall your descendants be,” in Genesis 15:5, He was saying that his descendants would have a Christ-like quality. And it came to pass, as Galatians 3:29 says, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” We who are believers today are all Abraham’s descendants.
When Genesis 15:6 says, “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness,” it refers to how Abraham believed the gospel you and I believe today.
God was also prophesying about the quantity of Abraham’s descendants—as he looked at the innumerable stars in the night sky, he likely started seeing them as cherubic babies’ faces saying, “Father Abraham!”
So God had to first fill Abraham’s heart with pictures of the many children he would have and the belief that he was going to be a father—long before the children came.
Also, did you know that the God who numbers the stars also heals the brokenhearted?
“He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.”
— Psalm 147:3–4 NKJV
God’s not so high and mighty that He isn’t aware of your private struggles which may be too shameful to share. Best of all, He knows the way out. He knows how to bring you to a place of deliverance and abundance.
He’s your Good Shepherd who will cause you never to be in want, who will make you lie down in green pastures.
Back to the story:
We then see in Genesis 17:5 and Genesis 17:15 that God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and his wife Sarai’s name to Sarah.
Abram (meaning “exalted father”) was changed to Abraham (meaning “father of many”).
Sarai (meaning “captain”) was changed to Sarah (meaning “princess, mother of multitudes”).
Within a year, their miracle child Isaac came.
But do you notice how God did not change Abram’s name before changing his heart? God had to first change Abraham’s heart before changing his speech.
This demonstrates how we have to believe God’s promises before speaking them.
So what are you meditating on? Are you meditating on the doctor’s negative report or what your critics are saying about you? Believe the report of the Lord (God’s Word), not the world.
Perhaps the facts now seem so real that God’s promises seem like fiction. But the reverse is actually true:
So if you can see your little balance in your bank account, or your lack of a life partner, that’s temporal.
“And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.”
— Romans 4:19 NKJV
Abraham did not consider the visible, natural fact that people of his and Sarah’s age (he was 99 and she 89) could not reproduce.
Hebrews 11:11 also says, “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”
“strength” — This word is “dynamis” in the original Greek, where we get the English word “dynamite.” It means “miraculous power,” which Sarah received by faith to conceive seed. That said, both Abraham and Sarah initially laughed when God told them they were going to have children (see Gen. 17:17, Gen. 18:12). So having faith doesn’t mean being stoic and never wavering. Laugh if you have to, but walk in faith from then on.
Pastor Prince shared how he feels stronger today and how he can do more than when he was younger, and credits it to how he watches what he says.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.”
— Proverbs 18:21
The devil has programmed death into our language. For example, when we express intensity of emotion, we say, “I’m dying to watch that movie.” But the truth is, you can’t watch the movie if you’re dead.
Many shows today are about violence and death—the more terrible it is, the more our flesh loves it. And we start talking about death.
But we will eat the fruit of it. On the flipside, if we speak life, we will also eat its fruit. For example:
“Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
— Psalm 103:5 NKJV
“youth” — Did you know the Hebrew word for “youth” here is “na`uwr”, which refers to childhood and adolescence? It’s the season when you feel the strongest naturally. That’s what God wants to give you!
In the past few weeks, we’ve been seeing how the No. 1 use for our faith is to believe we are righteous.
In the midst of symptoms of sin in your body and mind, say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”
When you feel tempted to do something wrong, declare, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” There’s power in realizing your true identity, and you might not even fall into temptation after that. But also confess your righteousness even when you’ve fallen into temptation and after you’ve fallen. It will help you.
We’re going to see how hearing about God’s righteousness can save a man from the brink of death, and even restore youthfulness to him:
“His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones stick out which once were not seen.
Yes, his soul draws near the Pit,
And his life to the executioners.
“If there is a messenger for him,
A mediator, one among a thousand,
To show man His uprightness,
Then He is gracious to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit;
I have found a ransom’;
His flesh shall be young like a child’s,
He shall return to the days of his youth.
He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him,
He shall see His face with joy,
For He restores to man His righteousness.”
— Job 33:21–26 NKJV
“A mediator, one among a thousand” — This refers to Jesus.
“His uprightness” — This refers to 2 things about God: He loves us, and He’s a justifier of us, not a judge.
“His flesh shall be young like a child’s” — This shows how the man’s youth was renewed, in addition to being delivered from the brink of death. It’s even more beautiful in the KJV, which says:
“His flesh shall be fresher than a child's:
he shall return to the days of his youth.”
— Job 33:25 KJV
“Fresher” — This man’s flesh was restored till it was even fresher than a child’s!
“He restores to man His righteousness” — This line in Job 33:26 shows that this is a New Covenant verse, because Jesus has restored to us His righteousness through the cross.
So confess, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ,” when you feel tempted to do something wrong, or feel condemned because you just quarreled with your spouse, for example. You’ll find the strength to treat your husband/wife right.
Pastor Prince encourages those of us who are advancing in years to release our faith. Don’t say, “Ah, I’m tired. Not today, ” and miss your walks, for example. It’ll become easier and easier to give yourself excuses.
Stop saying you’re old everytime you forget something or experience a weakness. Start saying, “I’m young!” Stop believing and speaking the wrong things.
This was what 10 out of the 12 spies whom the children of Israel sent to spy out the Promised Land reported:
“Then they told him, and said: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.”
— Numbers 13:27–28 NKJV
“Nevertheless” — This word killed them. Today, maybe doubt is sown in your heart when you speak to someone for instance, and you feel anxious after they talk about world events, for example. The devil has put his words in their mouth. Don’t accept it.
“Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
— Numbers 13:30–33 NKJV
“we are well able” VS. “we are not able” — The spirit of faith and fear works in the same way. While Caleb was believing God’s Word and speaking it out loud before anything had happened, the other men were believing the natural facts they saw and speaking them out loud before anything had happened.
Faith works by believing God’s Word and speaking it, fear works by believing the devil’s words and speaking it.
Fear is the modus operandi of the devil.
So for example, are you saying, “My grandfather died of (insert sickness), I fear…” or are you meditating on scriptures like Psalm 91:16 and 2 Corinthians 5:17, saying, “With long life God satisfies me. I see myself this way. I am a new creation. Old things, even from my father, have passed away. All things have become new”?
“we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” — How you see yourself will eventually be how the enemy sees you.
“And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?””
— Numbers 14:2–3 NKJV
“all the children of Israel complained” — God hates complaining. It’s a spirit that can easily spread, and it prevents people from seeing the good in the situation.
“But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.”
— Numbers 14:6–10 NKJV
“exceedingly good land” — In Hebrew, this reads “mə-’ōḏ mə-’ōḏ towb 'erets”. “mə-’ōḏ” which means “exceedingly,” is repeated twice, meaning it’s a very, very good land! Today, the devil might say the Christian life is boring. But it’s actually a very, very good life that you’ll enjoy much more than anything the world can offer.
The world has taken sex that God created for enjoyment, and perverted it to the extent of bestiality. This means they’re not satisfied.
“they are our bread” — While the 10 spies said they were the giants’ bread, Joshua said that the giants would be their bread.
Is it a difficult family member or a serious condition you’re facing? See these problems as bread for you to feed on.
Even if you’re in a chaotic, terrible workplace now, it just means there’s a lot of bread for you. You will emerge stronger. You will not be overcome.
“their protection has departed from them” — Yet many times, we think our protection has departed from us. But the truth is that the Lord is with us.
“Now the glory of the Lord appeared” — No matter how the people wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb, the Lord had the final say. And He said this:
“And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.”
— Numbers 14:26–30 NKJV
“Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.”
— Matthew 8:13 NKJV
— In these 2 verses, do you notice how the Lord didn’t say, “As you have believed right or wrong?” But the Bible also says, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth (manifests) good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” (Matt. 12:35).
The quality of your life today is a result of what you believed and spoke in the past.
“The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness” — Just as the generation didn’t believe they would enter the Promised Land, they died in the wilderness. Honestly, there was no reason to complain: God covered the people with a pillar of cloud by day, gave them manna and meat daily, ensured that their feet never swelled and their clothes grew with them.
It was the people’s hearts that had to change.
“But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.”
— Numbers 14:24 NKJV
“he has a different spirit” — God was talking about the spirit of faith, that makes Him zero in on you and pleases Him like no other. Caleb gave God such joy. Faith is trusting what God says is true, not what the enemy or your feelings say.
Pastor Prince shares about how his dear Israeli friend Samuel Smadja was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bladder. Doctors recommended a special treatment and said that he only had a 20–30% chance of recovery even after that.
But Pastor Prince and the pastors prayed for him, telling him, “I see you healed and well,” and partook of the holy Communion with him. Pastor Prince told him not to speak anything negative and gave him a word from the Bible:
“Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.”
— Isaiah 54:2 NKJV
He told Samuel not to see his future as dark and him in a coffin, but to start preparing for growth, health, and wholeness—even next year’s vacation—he is well and would enjoy these things. Samuel did that, and we just received news in the past week that when he went back to the doctors, they could not find any trace of cancer! Praise the Lord!
You can’t resolve supernatural things with the natural, no matter how good these things are.
The miracle didn’t happen because of man’s works, but the Lord’s faith imparted to them.
We’re going to look at a story about David and his mighty men which is representative of our times, because David is a type of Christ, and his mighty men, the church.
This story talks about how David was fleeing from his son Absalom who wanted to usurp his throne, but an elderly man Barzillai cared for him.
While Barzillai was devoted to David, he still grew old because of what he believed. Caleb, on the other hand, could fight giants even at 85—five years older than Barzillai! Let’s see:
Barzillai
“And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went across the Jordan with the king, to escort him across the Jordan. Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. And he had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man. And the king said to Barzillai, “Come across with me, and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem.”
But Barzillai said to the king, “How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am today eighty years old. Can I discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king? Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. And why should the king repay me with such a reward? Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you.”
And the king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for you.” Then all the people went over the Jordan. And when the king had crossed over, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own place.”
— 2 Samuel 19:31–39 NKJV
“And the king said to Barzillai, “Come across with me, and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem.”” — David’s a type of Christ, so this is a picture of how Jesus is beckoning us to see ourselves as risen people in Him, to come with Him to where the supernatural and miraculous happens.
“But Barzillai said (...) what seems good to you.” — Even though Barzillai was a good man, he said, “Can I discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king?” You can be really devoted to the Lord, but have your mouth full of death.
Caleb
“Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”
And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.”
— Joshua 14:6–13 NKJV
“You know the word which the Lord said...concerning you and me” — The first thing Caleb talked about was God’s Word. The complainers had died by this time, but he was still alive.
“As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in” — The moment Caleb believed his giants were bread for him at 45, he stopped growing old. If you have that spirit towards your challenges and obstacles, life won’t be stressful. The truth is, there’ll be things going wrong all the time—but they’re bread for you!
Also, the strength that Caleb had was strength for war: physical strength.
“It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said” — Caleb drove out giants at 85. He was still seeing his giants as bread, and eating bread at that age.
While we can’t fault Barzillai for his devotion, the truth is he refused to cross over to God’s side where miracles happen. Caleb, on the other hand, took God at His Word and stopped growing old.
So if you’re nearing 80, release your faith and say, “I’ll be like Caleb, still!”
Stop saying you’re old. Your body will respond to it. That’s why the first thing the Holy Spirit did on the Day of Pentecost was to catch hold of the disciples’ tongues and give them a new language.
Watch your spirit of faith. If you have trouble believing good, perhaps you’re looking at too many bad images in dramas for example—of betrayal, things suddenly turning for the worse, a good person dying. Subconsciously, your inner man is imbibing these images.
Be careful of how the worldly spirit can come in, to the extent that you feel God’s Word isn’t real when you confess it.
So like Father Abraham, find your stars.
Jesus says: “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)
“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
— Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
Guard your heart. If you’re a believer, God’s promptings are there because He has given you a heart of flesh. But He leads you on the wavelength of faith, not fear.
One of the best ways to guard your heart is to ask the Lord to show you areas where you are fearful. Ask Him to show you how the fear came in—perhaps you’re watching too many documentaries or crime series, and you’ve been neglecting God’s Word. And you can ask God to give you a fresh desire for His Word.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
— Psalm 1:2–3 NKJV
“Whose leaf also shall not wither” — And when you meditate on God’s Word, your leaf shall not wither! In other words, you will retain your health and youthfulness.
“Father in Jesus’ Name, I thank you for the anointing oil. When the anointing oil comes on someone, that person's work is no more natural. It becomes supernatural. Whatever he or she does prospers. Father, when the oil comes, there is no more grinding, stress, or difficulty. So right now in Jesus’ Name, anoint every mother under the sound of my voice. Let their life from now on Lord, even in doing Your will, become effortlessly easy. No striving. No pushing. No living the stressed life under the daily grind. Father, I pray in Jesus’ Name that You will surround them with greater favor than ever. Grant them favor in the eyes of their children and their spouse Lord, in the eyes of people. Father, I pray that You also impart to them right now a fresh infusion of divine health. And Father, cause them to live long. Should Jesus tarry, cause them to live even all the way to 120 in the Name of Jesus. Father, their eyes shall not be dim, nor their natural force abated. Father, I pray in Jesus’ Name that you put Your good things in their mouth, that they will not speak bad things. They'll not speak old, or sickness, but life and health from now on. In Jesus’ Name and all the people said, Amen!”
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2019
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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