These are notes on the sermon, Five Times More Favor And Provision, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 15 November 2020, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
Be sure to sign up to get updates on the latest sermon notes by Team JP.
When we see the difficult situations happening all around the world, we need to know what the Lord is doing in our lives so that we won’t get discouraged and disappointed by what is happening around us. It is vital that as children of God, we know that our God is working all things out for the good of His people.
Sometimes the Lord will allow shaking so that the things which can be shaken will be removed. That’s when we’ll start to recognize the things that can stand the test of time and circumstance because they will remain. Then we will know to build our trust on the right foundation—on Jesus and His Word.
Pastor Prince believes that we are living in exciting times in spite of all that is happening in the world right now. God is accelerating the reach of the gospel of grace and the manifestation of His promises in our lives as we approach the day that Jesus returns, the day He will set the world right.
“But the path of the just (righteous) is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”
— Proverbs 4:18 NKJV
As a believer, even as the world gets darker and darker, know that for you and your family, the days ahead can only get brighter and brighter. We have God’s Word for it!
We are continuing from last week’s sermon, All That Is Mine Is Yours—Discover Abba’s Heart For You. Today, we will be looking at the gospel of Jesus Christ as expounded in the book of Galatians, as well as the story of Joseph in the Old Testament.
When you study a doctrine in the New Testament, you can always find shadows of it in the details of the Old Testament. This is because the Old Testament is the New concealed, and the New Testament is the Old revealed.
Jesus Himself demonstrated this on the day that He rose from the dead. As He walked with two discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus, He expounded things concerning Himself in the Old Testament (Luke 24:27). When we look at the Old Testament, our desire should always be to uncover Jesus, the things of Christ, and to bring Him out of the shadows. In the Old Testament, we see shadows, types, and symbols of the truths in the New Testament. We study them to get insights into the substance revealed in the New Testament.
To reveal the beauty of Christ in the Old Testament is something Pastor Prince endeavors to do in his ministry. The riches of the Old Testament can only be seen when Jesus is revealed in them. When we study the Old Testament, it is not to bring out the law, the dos and don’ts, but it is to reveal the beauty of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus taught the two disciples all the things concerning Himself in the Old Testament, He withheld their eyes from recognizing who He was in the flesh. By doing this, the Lord was showing that it is more important for us to see Him in the Scriptures than in the flesh. Just like the two disciples saw the Lord in the Scriptures, we also have this same privilege today.
The story of Abraham’s two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, and their mothers, Sarah and Hagar:
“Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all”
— Galatians 4:21–26 NKJV
“which things are symbolic” — The stories in the Old Testament are symbolic; they are examples to help us understand the New Testament better today (1 Cor. 10:11). May we humble ourselves to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the substance of these shadows and types when we read and study the Old Testament.
The two sons (Isaac and Ishmael) and the two mothers (Sarah and Hagar) are symbolic. Last week, we saw how Hagar is a picture of Mount Sinai where the law was given and Sarah, on the other hand, is a picture of God’s grace.
We are not on Mount Sinai today (Heb. 12:18–24 KJV). Even Moses, the best of them, was afraid on that mountain (Heb. 12:21).
Today, we are under the new covenant. We are on Mount Zion where God and His angels are (Heb. 12:22)! Pastor Prince encourages preachers to move away from preaching “do, do, do” to preaching the good news, which is Jesus having declared, “It is done!”
“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman."”
— Galatians 4:28–30 NKJV
“we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise” — We are children of promise, having been born again of the Spirit. We are the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.
“born according to the flesh” — To try to keep the law denotes that you are operating under the flesh. Man’s attempt to keep the law, even with the best intentions, belies the fact that man doesn’t know the flesh profits nothing. The flesh cannot accomplish what only God can do in and through us, through His Spirit. It is only those who are born again of the Spirit, those who are under grace, can fulfill the law and even exceed it.
The one who is born again is considered a mature son. When he hears the word “righteousness,” he knows that it is a gift to be received. Conversely, the Bible considers someone who thinks of the word “righteousness” as something that you have to do, a babe or an infant (Heb. 5:13 KJV).
Ishmael, who was born of the flesh, persecuted Isaac, who was born of the Spirit. This happened when Isaac was weaned from milk:
“So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac."”
— Genesis 21:8–10 NKJV
“Cast out this bondwoman and her son” — What Sarah said, to cast out the bondwoman, became Scripture. It is God’s counsel to all of us today (Gal. 4:30).
Those who are under the law cannot share the same inheritance as those who are under grace. Every time we try to receive healing or receive a breakthrough from God while still believing that we have to qualify for it or earn it, we are putting ourselves under the law again.
On the other hand, those who have the Spirit of sonship know that it is only by grace that they can inherit the full blessings of God.
When we are born again in the Spirit as God’s children, we are born as His full-grown sons who have the Spirit of sonship (the Spirit of the Son, Jesus, living in us). While there is still a process of growth as a believer, the moment we are saved by grace (and we have passed from being under the law to being under grace), we are immediately considered full-grown sons who are of the age and maturity to inherit all of God’s blessings. We do not go back to being infants again.
Our heavenly Father wants us to possess that Spirit of sonship where we can freely come to Him and receive our inheritance (His blessings). He doesn’t want us to have the spirit of slavery such that we are always afraid to come to Him for fear of being punished. The Lord calls us “friends” and not “slaves,” and today, we share the same Spirit of sonship as our Lord Jesus Christ (John 15:15 KJV).
We may know all the names of God, but the most important name of God Jesus came to reveal is “Father.” We receive all the benefits of what that powerful name is meant to produce in our lives just by calling Him “Father.”
“But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children
And give you a pleasant land,
A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’
“And I said: ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,”
And not turn away from Me.’
— Jeremiah 3:19 NKJV
Among the body of Christ, we all share the same heavenly Father but we have different mothers. For those who insist on still being under the law, their mother is Hagar (who represents the law). But for those who are under grace, our mother is Sarah. When we face criticism from those who come against grace, we don’t have to make a stand or try to dispute them. Instead, let’s pray for them that they will come to a place of possessing that Spirit of sonship. You cannot fully inherit the inheritance God has for you until you embrace your position of sonship.
When you try to have both law and grace, you lose the severity of the law and the goodness of grace. What others call “balance,” God calls “mixture.”
It is important to remember that Sarah demanded that Hagar be cast out when Isaac was weaned off milk. Pastor Prince believes that this is a reflection of the times we are living in: The church is coming to maturity in being weaned off milk (a picture of coming out from under the law) and is now receiving solid food (the word of grace). All around the world we see more and more believers discovering grace.
Of all the characters in the Old Testament, the one who typifies our Lord Jesus the most is Joseph.
Joseph was greatly loved by his father, Jacob, as Jesus was greatly loved by God the Father.
Right after Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan and God opened the heavens to Him and said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:16–17), Jesus went into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan. The tactic that Satan used to try to tempt Jesus was this: he dropped the word “beloved.” He said to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God…” (Matt. 4:1–11). The devil knew that all his temptation would come to nothing if Jesus knew that He was the beloved Son of God.
Pastor Prince encourages pastors to remind their congregation of how loved they are by the Father. There are people who believe God loved them in the past but are questioning if God still loves them today or if He will still love them tomorrow. But the Word assures us:
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
— John 13:1 NKJV
“having loved His own . . . He loved them to the end” — This is God’s promise to us. He who loved us from the beginning will love us to the very end. The apostle Paul made this truth personal for himself when he said, “ . . . the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
This is why we partake of the Communion—to remember Christ and His love for us that He demonstrated at the cross. God wants us to always know that He loves us. As parents, when we love our children, it isn’t so that our love will be reciprocated. We just want to shower our love upon them. In the same way but much more so, our heavenly Father loves to be in our presence and to pour out His love upon us. There are times when we just have to be still and remember how much He loves us.
Joseph was loved by the father but rejected by his brothers just as Jesus was loved by His Father but rejected by His earthly brothers—the people of Israel—when He first came to earth (John 1:11 KJV).
Also, Joseph was sold as a slave for 20 pieces of silver just as Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.
The Bible is all about Jesus. It is like God’s photo album of His beloved Son. As we seek the Holy Spirit to reveal more and more of Jesus when we read the Word, God will open more and more of the beauty of His Son to us.
What Joseph’s brothers rejected became bread for Egypt (a picture of the Gentile world). Similarly, Israel’s rejection of Jesus became the bread of the Gentile world. Just as Joseph took a Gentile bride, Asenath, Jesus calls us, the Gentile Church, His bride.
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.”
— Amos 8:11 NKJV
In a time of famine, we have nourishment because we are hearing the words of the Lord. The world doesn’t have it because they haven’t heard the good news. The empty pursuits of the world always end in famine; man’s soul remains famished. You can be a very wealthy man but still have your soul empty and famished. Only Jesus can fill that void and cause our souls to be full and fulfilled.
Joseph’s backstory:
Joseph is a type of Jesus but who is Benjamin, and who does he represent?
All of Joseph’s brothers were born of the same father, Jacob, but they did not share the same mother. Joseph and Benjamin were the only two sons who were born of the same father and mother. Benjamin was the most favored son of them all and the one most loved by his brother, Joseph.
Benjamin made his appearance in a time of famine:
“So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.””
— Genesis 41:55 NKJV
“when all the land of Egypt was famished . . . Go to Joseph” — Today, we are seeing a famine all over the world but we can rest easy in the Lord because we have Jesus, our heavenly Joseph and our good Shepherd, with us and taking care of us.
“And the famine has been over all the face of the land, and Joseph openeth all [places] which have [corn] in them, and selleth to the Egyptians; and the famine is severe in the land of Egypt,”
— Genesis 41:56 YLT
“Joseph openeth all [places] which have [corn] in them” — Jesus, our heavenly Joseph, is now opening all the storehouses which have corn in them. The grain (the good news of Jesus) is now being spread all over the world through technology as churches are taking the gospel online. Jesus is not the one behind the famine, but He is our source of supply during the famine.
The first time Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, they did not recognize him. In the same way, Israel did not recognize Jesus in His first coming. But the second time Joseph appeared to his brothers, he revealed himself to them. In the same way, Jesus will reveal Himself to Israel in His second coming.
While Jacob was back at home thinking that everything was against him because Joseph was dead (so he thought) and now Benjamin was summoned to Egypt (Gen. 42:36), Joseph was all the while working all things out for his and his family’s good. Like Jacob, we can look at everything that is happening around us and think that everything is against us, but that is not true! Jesus, our heavenly Joseph is working all things out for our good behind the scenes because we are children of God (Rom. 8:28).
“When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon."”
— Genesis 43:16 NKJV
“When Joseph saw Benjamin . . . he said . . . ‘slaughter an animal and make ready’” — The moment Joseph finally met his brother, Benjamin, is when everything started to turn around for good. The brothers came for bread but Joseph over-answered their request and gave them solid meat. Jesus always over-answers our prayers by exceeding all that we can ask or imagine.
Keep praying big prayers and watch God over-answer and exceed them!
“the steward of his house” — The unnamed steward or servant in the stories of the Old Testament is a picture of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn’t call attention to Himself because He is there to glorify Jesus (John 16:14).
“Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, "Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?" And he said, "God be gracious to you, my son."
— Genesis 43:29 NKJV
“God be gracious to you, my son” — When Joseph saw Benjamin up close, the first words that came out of his mouth was, “God be gracious to you.” They were words of grace.
Grace will locate and mark the Benjamin Generation.
When Benjamin was born, his mother (Rachel, whose name means “lamb”) died giving birth to him. The grace generation was born out of the death of the lamb of God on the cross. Out of His side came the church.
“And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni (son of my sorrow); but his father called him Benjamin (son of my right hand).”
— Genesis 35:18 NKJV
“she called his name Ben-Oni . . . but his father called him Benjamin” — Rachel wanted to name Benjamin “Ben-oni,” which means “son of my sorrow.” But Jacob his father intervened and named him “Benjamin,” which means “son of my right hand.” To be on the Father’s right hand is to be where Jesus is today—in a place of power, privilege, favor and righteousness.
“Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, "Serve the bread."
— Genesis 43:30–31 NKJV
“serve the bread” — Joseph had earlier declared that unless Benjamin came into his presence, he would not entertain the brothers and there would be no bread (Gen. 43:3–5). So when they finally brought Benjamin to Joseph, Joseph’s first instruction was to “serve the bread.”
Today, the Benjamin Generation (the ones who are under grace, not the law) is here in all its fullness and our heavenly Joseph is giving instructions to serve the bread (messages of grace that bring nourishment to spirit, soul, and body). Get ready to receive the bread!
“Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin's serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.”
— Genesis 43:34 NKJV
“Benjamin’s serving was five times as much” — The Benjamin Generation will be a generation that receives five times more blessings from the Lord!
Five is the number of grace. We see this throughout the Bible. The fifth time Noah’s name was mentioned (Gen. 6:8), the fifth time Ruth’s name was mentioned (Ruth 2:2), and the fifth time David’s name was mentioned (1 Sam. 16:22) all involved them finding favor (i.e. grace, because grace is unmerited favor). Five is the number of grace and favor.
In these last days, the Benjamin Generation who is under grace, whose trust is in the grace of God, will have five times more than those who put their trust in the law.
You shall have five times more bread, which is a picture of both spiritual revelation and physical provision. Bread is also a picture of healing in the Bible (Matt. 15:22–28).
“He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.”
— Genesis 45:22 NKJV
“to Benjamin he gave . . . five changes of garments” — All the brothers got garments but Benjamin received from Joseph five changes of garments. Garments are a picture of anointing (e.g. the supernatural power and ability of God that comes upon you for the different hats you wear as an employee, as a student, as a parent, as a husband or wife, etc.). Garments are also a picture of material, practical provision.
The Benjamin Generation will have plenty to eat (both spiritually and physically) and plenty to wear (both physically and spiritually—operating in the manifold grace of God).
“Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
— Psalm 103:1–5 NKJV
“forget not all His benefits” — Feed yourself and nourish your soul daily by meditating on all the benefits of the Lord. These are the benefits the Lord wants you to remember and keep in your heart:
“to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver” — Benjamin had an effect on Joseph that the other brothers never had. Benjamin was the only one who received 300 pieces of silver from Joseph. 300 is the number of “those chosen for victory,” and silver is a picture of redemption. It is also in Benjamin’s sack that Joseph hid his silver cup (Gen. 44:2).
The empty silver cup that Joseph hid in Benjamin’s sack is a picture of the cup that Jesus drank from in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39). It was the cup of judgment, the cup of all our sins that Jesus drank from. It is empty because Jesus has emptied out the judgment and the wrath that we were supposed to experience. The empty silver cup cries out God’s redemption at the cross, “No more anger! No more wrath! No more judgment!”
Of all His brothers, the one whom the Lord trusts to release His message of grace to is the Benjamin Generation.
Nothing happened until Benjamin came to Joseph. God wants the Benjamin Generation to come close to Him. He desires for us to be near to Him and to see that He only has grace—not judgment or wrath—to pour out on us. He only has gracious words for us. Will you allow Him to be gracious to you? Will you allow Him to pour out His love on you today?
It was when Benjamin came to Joseph that everything started to turn around for good, not just for the rest of the brothers but for the nation of Israel as well.
“Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:”
— Mark 3:14-15 NKJV
“He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him” — When the Lord Jesus appointed the twelve disciples, His foremost desire was that they might be with Him. The power to heal and to cast out demons came after that; those things are secondary. The priority for them was to simply be with Him. The same thing goes for us today. The Lord wants us to see who He is. He wants us to hear the words of grace coming out of His mouth.
“Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.””
— Mark 1:17 NKJV
“Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” — Sometimes, we try to be fishers of men but our heart is not really following the Lord. God doesn’t want us to run after ministry. Sometimes the busyness and all the action of ministry can even take us away from the Lord and we can become discouraged. If you don’t have personal time with the Lord, if you don’t have that Emmaus road experience that warms your spirit, your ministry can become like Elijah’s. He experienced the power of God on Mount Carmel and saw great success, but he was not with Jesus. He did not experience the closeness of being in a relationship with Jesus. Sometimes a minister’s fall can happen right after experiencing a great victory. Why? Because he missed out on simply being with the Lord.
No matter what great things we set our hearts and hands to do, it all comes back to being with Jesus.
“And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.”
— Genesis 43:23 KJV
"he brought Simeon out unto them" — After Benjamin was brought to Joseph, Simeon was finally released to the brothers (Joseph had kept Simeon behind until Benjamin was brought to him). Simeon means “hearing” in Hebrew. It is a picture of Israel’s hearing being restored when the Benjamin Generation (you and I) is brought before Jesus, our heavenly Joseph.
Whatever you’re lacking right now, whether it’s health or provision, the Lord is able to give you five times more than what you need. If we say that it is all up to His grace, we are freeing God to do as much as His grace can. The Lord wants to see us dependent on grace.
Pastor Prince closes the service by praying for people with these conditions:
Every healing can stand the test of medical science. Pastor Prince encourages those he prayed over to go back to their doctors to verify their healings. Only stop taking your medicine when your healing has been confirmed by medical reports. Then please write in to share your testimony!
This is how you receive from the Lord: be conscious of how deeply your heavenly Father loves you, and say in your heart, “The Son of God loves me. Jesus loves me.”
“The Lord bless you and your loved ones with the blessings of father Abraham. And the Lord bless you also with all the blessings of Deuteronomy 28. The Lord release upon you all the blessings of Ephesians 1 in your life. May you see many of them manifest even in this coming week.
And the Lord raise His face and smile upon you throughout this week. Amen. The Lord grant you supernatural favor everywhere you go. Doors of favor will open to you. Amen. New levels of favor. I speak new levels of favor for you throughout this week in Jesus’ name. And when you have experienced the favor of God, you will know you have been favored. Amen.
The Lord lift up His countenance on every single family under the sound of my voice and grant to you and yours His wonderful shalom peace, well-being, and wholeness. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 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 2020
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
Sign Up for Latest Sermon Notes Updates
SubscribeTo complete the subscription process, please click on the confirmation link in the email we just sent you.
You're already in our mailing list. Thank You!
