These are notes on the sermon, God’s Way Of Acceleration, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 9 January 2022, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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In this year of Rest and Acceleration, expect the things you have asked God for based on Scripture to come to pass in an accelerated way.
This doesn't mean you will have to do more to achieve them. But you can rest and see God be the One to bring to pass His acceleration in your life.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
— Romans 12:2 NKJV
Don’t adopt the world’s way of thinking. The world thinks, "I need to look out for #1—myself. I need to act fast or the opportunity will be lost . . .”
As children of God, we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, “that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12).
Provision is one of these things that have been freely given to us by God. He is the One who “teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go” (Isa. 48:17).
God’s ways are not ways of stress or tiresome labor, but His ways are ways of pleasantness and peace (Prov. 3:17).
As you rest in Him and trust Him, you will see the harvest of His finished work (all the blessings He paid for at the cross) manifesting in an accelerated way.
Key verse for this year’s theme of Rest and Acceleration: Amos 9:11–13
Even though the chapter and verse numbers in our Bible were added by man, God still uses them to give us insights. For example, in Bible numerics, 22 is the number of light and revelation. There are 22 “chapter 22”s in the Bible, and they all shed light on Jesus (e.g. Genesis 22 is about Abraham sacrificing his son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah, which is a picture of God the Father sacrificing His beloved Son, Jesus, on Calvary. And Psalm 22 is a Messianic psalm of Jesus being forsaken by God when He was on the cross as our sin offering).
When it comes to this year’s key verse (Amos 9:11)—this verse is addressing the generation that went through and came after 9/11. In America, 911 is also the number of rescue. Amos 9:11 speaks of God’s promises for His people who are living in a dangerous world.
This year, God is restoring the Tabernacle of David. The Tabernacle of David places a strong focus on the ark of the covenant, where the presence of God dwelt. The ark of the covenant is a picture of Jesus Christ.
Before the Tabernacle of David was built, there was the Tabernacle of Moses. Even back then, everything in the Tabernacle of Moses spoke of Jesus. When God gave Moses the instructions for building the tabernacle, His heart was full of His Son and the instructions He gave were filled with images of Jesus.
This year, God is helping us see the importance of having Jesus at the center of our lives.
On the day of His resurrection, Jesus came alongside two of His disciples and walked with them (Luke 24). They had been talking to one another about Jesus being crucified and they were discouraged because they thought He would be the One to redeem Israel. In essence, Israel was at the center of their hearts, and Jesus was the means to an end (Israel being saved).
What is currently at the center of your heart?
Perhaps you are embarking on a new career and it is taking center place in your heart. There is nothing wrong at all with being diligent and responsible, but in our work, we are to serve our bosses as unto the Lord because it is from Him that we receive our reward (Col. 3:22, 24). Our eyes are to be on Jesus, giving Him center place, even as we go about our work. When our eyes are on Him, blessings flow.
The Lord wants to bless us in all things—not just in our careers but also when it comes to provision, healing, family well-being, relationships, etc. These blessings flow when we look to Jesus and put Him at the center of our hearts.
Jesus drew near to His two disciples when they were discouraged. As He restrained their eyes from recognizing who He was, He opened the Scriptures to them and showed them things concerning Himself. Then He broke bread with them (a picture of the holy Communion), and their eyes were opened to recognize Him.
In this story, God shows us what we should be doing on Sundays: Seeing Jesus in the Scriptures and receiving the Communion from the Lord.
Our week starts on Sunday, the day of rest, before we enter into work on Monday.
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:”
— Amos 9:11 KJV
David's tabernacle was actually a temporal dwelling place for the ark of the covenant (where the presence of God dwelt). David’s son Solomon later took the ark and put it in the temple he built on Mount Moriah, thereby ushering in the golden era of Israel.
The main characteristic of the Tabernacle of David is praise and worship before an unveiled ark.
Notice the contrast: In the Tabernacle of Moses, there were many steps to take / things to do in order to approach God, and only the high priest could come before the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies. But in the Tabernacle of David, all God's people could come freely before the ark to worship.
“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus”
— Hebrews 10:19 NKJV
Jesus defined the fear of the Lord in Deuteronomy 6:13 as worship (Matt. 4:10). The fear of the Lord is not a slavish fear, which is described as bondage in Roman 8:15.
The main characteristic of the Tabernacle of David is unrestricted praise and worship—dancing, singing, and the playing of instruments. This is not something we see in the Tabernacle of Moses.
The Tabernacle of David is what God is restoring all over the world.
God is repairing the breaches in the Tabernacle of David and in your life. When God restores, His restoration is always greater than the original in quality and/or quantity. When God restores your marriage, it turns from bland water into intoxicating wine.
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.”
— Amos 9:13 KJV
"the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed" — This is a picture of an abundance and an acceleration of harvest (God’s blessings). Expect the good things you have lost or been waiting for to come to pass with abundance and acceleration this year!
“Yes indeed, it won’t be long now.” God’s Decree. “Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won’t be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings! Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills.”
— Amos 9:13 MSG
In the Message version, the writer brings out the essence of Amos 9 in paraphrase. This is how swiftly the blessings will come this year.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk . . .”
— Joel 3:18 KJV
“the hills shall flow with milk” — This implies that the cattle are so well fed that they produce an abundance of milk. This is also a picture of abundance.
Pastor Prince shares a testimony that just came in last week where a man was healed of a pain he had been suffering from in his shoulder joint since August 2021. After hearing last Sunday’s message that this year is the year of Rest and Acceleration and that Jesus is our mercy seat having shed His blood to remove our sins and purchase every blessing (including healing), this brother received healing in his shoulder! This is a testimony of rest and acceleration.
The video of the theme of the year is screened. In this video, there are elements of the Tabernacle of David, the power of the blood of Jesus, and deliverance from all kinds of oppression.
Pastor Prince shares how every portion of this video was crafted intentionally and that this year, we will see them come to pass one by one in our lives.
For example, this year, we will see many more people freed from depression. For people who have been suffering from it for many years and for parents who have been crying out to the Lord for their children going through it, have hope! There will be an acceleration of deliverance.
Know that what Amos 9 describes (“everywhere you look, blessings!”) is not for the world but for God’s people. In the world, we will see things get darker and darker because we are living in the last days before Jesus returns, and the Bible prophesies this.
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
— Matthew 24:6 NKJV
Even when we see these things happen this year, we do not need to be troubled. We can still trust the Lord to see the blessings of the Tabernacle of David (in Amos 9) unfold in our lives.
At the same time, we are to pray for the world because we have influence with God. When we pray, God moves.
Jesus gave the church the authority that the first man, Adam, lost in the Garden of Eden.
God has given us a special prayer that we can pray for the world and our future—it is the gift of tongues. When we pray in tongues, we can pray even when we lack understanding or don’t know what to pray for. We can also pray without ceasing because we will never run out of words.
“And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.”
— Luke 21:11 NKJV
“great earthquakes . . . pestilences” — This year, let us pray against these things. Let’s keep the nations and their people in prayer, that these things will not destroy them. It is not God who sends these things but the enemy, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10a). Jesus does the opposite—He comes to give life and restore; He comes that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10b).
This year, we will study the life of David more extensively.
David had a heart to seek out the ark of the covenant, which had been in Kirjath Jearim for 20 years (2 Sam. 6:2, 1 Chron. 13, 15). The previous king of Israel, Saul, had no heart to seek out the ark, while David had a desire for it since he was a young boy in Bethlehem (Psalm 132).
David brought the ark to Jerusalem, also known as Zion and the City of David (2 Sam. 5:7).
Mount Zion always speaks of the new covenant of grace, while Mount Sinai speaks of the old covenant of the law.
“For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, . . . And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,”
— Hebrews 12:18, 21–22 KJV
We have not come to Mount Sinai, where there is death for both man and even their livestock. But we have come to Mount Zion, the mountain of grace, where God Himself now dwells along with all His angels.
“Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
— Hebrews 12:27 NKJV
Over the last few years, many things that man has trusted in have been shaken—their own strength, intellect, resources, wealth, etc. God did not send the pandemic, but it has nonetheless revealed the limitations of man’s strength and man's need for God.
If only man would turn their hearts towards Him, His restoration would come in great quality and quantity.
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
It cannot be shaken; it remains forever.”
— Psalm 125:1 CSB
If you are on Mount Zion, the mountain of grace (if you believe you have been saved by grace and depend on the Lord to supply you with all you need because Jesus has given you right standing with God), you can't be shaken.
But if you are on Mount Sinai, the mountain of the law (if you depend on your own effort to make it in life or to deserve God’s blessings), you will find that you are on shaky ground. The whole mountain itself is shaking.
We go through shaking so that the things that can’t be shaken will remain.
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire (consuming everything that is not grace)"
— Hebrews 12:28–29 NKJV
“let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” — Without grace, we cannot serve God acceptably with reverence or godly fear.
Grace is the unshakable foundation on which we can serve the Lord well and live holy lives.
In Acts 15, the apostles and the Jerusalem Council gathered to settle a dispute about whether Gentile believers needed to keep the law once they got saved.
Peter, who was the first person God used to preach to the Gentiles, spoke up for the Gentiles saying that God purified their hearts by faith, not by their labor or works.
If you are looking for the answer to dealing with greed or lust, you will not find the answer in trying to have more discipline. Using your own effort or willpower to try to overcome sinful habits implies that Jesus did not finish His work at the cross.
The way we deal with sinful habits or the stirring of the flesh today is by reckoning ourselves dead to sin—that means knowing that the temptation you feel is but a remnant of what is already dead and defeated. Ignore the voice of the flesh and continue to focus on Jesus. His finished work has made you righteous. The more you focus on that, the more your habits will come in line with your belief, and the more you will reign over sin in a practical way.
True holiness can only come when you are on the foundation of the perfect work of Jesus, where all your sins are forgiven.
Forgiveness of sins is not just the ABCs or the basics of Christianity—it is the start, middle, and end. It is everything.
It is on this sure foundation that our conscience, our souls, our emotions can be at rest, and we will see God bring acceleration into our lives.
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.”
— Hebrews 10:1–2 KJV
God wants you to have a purged conscience. This does not make you licentious but causes you to rest and have a great appreciation for Jesus and all He has done. Worship is born out of this. When you see all the Lord has done for you, you respond to Him by falling in love with Him. He becomes central in your life. And when you fall in love with Jesus, you fall out of love with sin.
The reason people keep falling into sin is that they keep trying not to, which reinforces their belief that what Jesus did is not enough. So stop struggling and just behold Him and His finished work.
Our state (our behavior) always fluctuates, but our standing (our position before God) never changes. We are always in Christ—righteous, blameless, and holy in God’s eyes.
The devil wants you to judge your standing by your state (e.g. when you are having a bad day or when you’ve succumbed to a bad habit, you decide you can’t hope for a good future because you have disappointed God).
But God wants you to judge your state (your action) by your standing (who you are in Christ, which never changes). For example, when you feel rising negative emotions toward someone, identify yourself as the righteousness of God in Christ (at that moment, you can say, "I'm righteous in Christ"). When you can rest in your unchanging position in Christ, you are free to judge your behavior without fear of condemnation. Then your actions will start to come in line with your position!
This year, we are going to look at how David brought the ark of the covenant back to the center of God’s people.
The ark is a picture of Jesus Christ. He needs to be central—not the means to an end.
When we place Jesus at the center of the different areas of our lives, everything falls into place as it should.
Placing Jesus at the center of your marriage
Husbands are to love their wives “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25). Wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22). Husbands and wives can only do this and have a healthy marriage when their eyes are on Jesus.
This goes for every Christian relationship. Children are also to obey their parents “in the Lord” (Eph. 6:1).
When you give Jesus center place, you don’t need to worry about how to live a holy life or how to change your behavior. These things become easy and they become a byproduct of fixing your eyes on Jesus and growing in your revelation of Him.
—
David made one mistake when he was transporting the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. He transported it on an oxen cart. This was not God’s ordained way. God’s way was for the ark to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites (the priests). Transporting the ark via oxen cart was actually the way the Philistines (Israel’s enemies) moved the ark (1 Sam. 6:10–12). As a result of David using the oxen cart to transport the ark, the oxen stumbled, and one of David’s men named Uzzah put out his hand to steady the ark and was struck dead (2 Sam. 6:6–7).
After Uzzah's death, David transported the ark the right way—on the shoulders of the priests.
During the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness before stepping into the promised land, the ark was carried on the shoulders of the priests. And not a single one of them stumbled while carrying the ark.
Today, we are the priests who are meant to carry the ark—a picture of lifting the name of Jesus on high. The role of the priest is not just for pastors or leaders in the church. All believers are kings and priests (Rev. 5:10). Our role is to exhort Jesus Christ, exalt Him, lift Him up in everything we do.
“And the children of the Levites bare (‘nasa’) the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord.”
— 1 Chronicles 15:15 KJV
“However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore (‘nasa’),
And our pains that He carried (‘saval’—a heavy load);
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by God, and humiliated.”
— Isaiah 53:4 NASB
“the Levites bare (‘nasa’) the ark of God upon their shoulders” (1 Chron. 15:15) and “our sicknesses that He Himself bore (‘nasa’)” (Isa. 53:4) — The same Hebrew word for bare/bore, “nasa,” is used in these two verses to describe the Levites bearing the ark and our Lord Jesus bearing our sicknesses at the cross.
“our pains that He carried (‘saval’—a heavy load)” — The load of our pains that Jesus carried for us was a heavy one.
Pastor Prince shares that as he was preparing this message and came to this part, the Lord told him, “If you will bear My Son, He will bear your sickness. If you exalt My Son, He will carry your sickness away. If you carry the load of My Son, He will carry your pains away.”
Pray that Jesus may be glorified in your life. When it comes to your children, pray for them that they may glorify Jesus in all they do.
A word of wisdom for parents: True success is not your children acing their studies, but that they truly know the Lord Jesus Christ.
“He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. For because you did not do it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.”
— 1 Chronicles 15:12–13 NKJV
God’s proper order is this: that we exalt His Son. We have been given this wonderful privilege. When we exalt His Son, everything in our lives falls into alignment. Acceleration happens. Blessings flow freely.
The more we focus on Jesus, the more we make sure all we do is for the purpose of glorifying Him and not ourselves, the more God says, “When you carry My Son, He will carry your sicknesses and pains.”
The load that Jesus carried was a heavy one. But the load we get to carry today when we lift Him up—that load is light.
Exalting Jesus is not meant to be difficult.
"So David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom with joy. And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams."
— 1 Chronicles 15:25–26 NKJV
“God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord” — Notice that God did not help Uzzah or the oxen, but He helped the priests.
The ark of the covenant weighs about 288 pounds. When it is carried on the shoulders of 4 men, each man is carrying around 72 pounds. That is not light.
However, God helped them. In other words, when they carried the ark, it was as though the ark carried them.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 11:28 KJV
Our Lord Jesus doesn't want you heavy laden with your sins, sicknesses, and pains. He says that when you come to Him, His very person will rest you.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
— Matthew 11:28–30 NKJV
“My yoke is easy and My burden is light” — If your assignment / the things you have set out to do are truly from Jesus, they will be easy and light. There is diligence involved, but you should not be stressed out and feeling out the work is grating against you. Even if you are carrying something for the sake of ministry, if it feels heavy and burdensome, then it is not from God. His yoke is easy. Likewise, you should experience ease in the work you do. His burden for you to carry is light. He is the One who took the heavy burden of your pains (Isa. 53:4). He is the burden bearer.
This year, we will be taking a journey to learn more about the life of David and understand how the different parts are pertinent to our lives prophetically.
We are in the journey of bringing the ark back to the center of God’s people, and God is repairing the breaches (broken parts). Not just in the Tabernacle of David, but in your life.
This year you will see great restoration. You will see an acceleration of the harvest of God’s blessings. You will see the plowman overtaking the reaper (Amos 9:11–13). You will see an over-abundance of supply.
Don't live with the sense that you’re alone or without help. The Lord loves you and He is with you.
“For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
“This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.”
— Psalm 132:13–14 NKJV
God is on Mount Zion, the mountain of grace. Make sure you are there too by depending on His grace and His supply for your life.
Pastor prays for people with these conditions:
“Heavenly Father, I thank You for Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son. Thank You for opening my eyes, by Your mercy and grace, to see Jesus as my Savior. He died on the cross for all my sins and He rose from the dead when I was acquitted in Him. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior now and forever. Thank You, Father. I'm greatly blessed. Amen.”
“Get ready for that rest and acceleration coming your way. Amen. Expect it. Not just for the coming year, but for the coming week. It won't be the same, it won’t be business as usual. God's going to do a new thing. God has already told you about it these past two Sundays. There will be rest and yet acceleration. Amen!
Be expecting. God always honors the heart that expects to see Him do what He said He would do. That’s faith.
Lift your hands to the Lord. I pray for you that the God of peace keep you holy and also keep your spirits, souls, and bodies healthy and faultless until our Lord Jesus returns. Amen.”
In this sermon, Pastor Prince shared how God’s proper order for the ark of the covenant was for it to be carried on the shoulders of the priests—a picture of us exalting our Lord Jesus in all we do. Let this be your desire this year: to do all things with the purpose of exalting and glorifying the Lord.
This week, talk to the Lord about the areas of your life that are troubling you and how you can move forward in those areas with a heart to glorify Him. He desires to be at the center of your career, your marriage, your parenting, your relationships, your finances—and not just the means to an end.
Will you trust that when you carry His name, He will carry everything else? He will carry every burden, every worry, every difficult situation, and all your pains. He will do the heavy lifting. He will give you rest, and as you rest, He will bring about acceleration in your life.
You are never alone and never without help. As you focus on Him and carry Him, He will carry you through the year!
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 2022
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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