These are notes on the sermon, God’s Way To Good Fortune In All Areas, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 19 April 2020, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Pastor Prince begins the service with this encouragement: Even though we are unable to physically meet as a church, we are together in spirit.
The apostle Paul wrote:
“For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ”
— Colossians 2:5 NKJV
More than ever, we are all united in one spirit through the broadcast that has been reaching out to more people and we are all blessed by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Prince encourages everyone around the world to have their own revelation of Jesus Christ because to see Jesus is to have life. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (see John 17:3). To know Jesus is to have eternal life.
We want to see more and more of Jesus Christ, especially in the time and season we are in.
Recap of last week’s sermon: Jesus celebrating the Passover with His disciples in the upper room
“Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, ‘Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’’ Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
— Mark 14:14–15 NKJV
“a large upper room, furnished and prepared” — The Lord brings us to a place that is already “furnished and prepared.” We need only receive the benefits of the finished work.
When God created man, He created him last out of all his creation and then entered into His rest. God rested not because He was tired but because He had completed all His work and rested in His finished work. By the time Adam was created, he did not have to do anything. His part was to enjoy and possess all that had been furnished and prepared.
Likewise, when God led the children of Israel into the promised land, He had prepared a land for which they did not labor, cities which they did not build, vineyards and olive groves which they did not plant (see Josh. 24:13).
The same way God provided for Adam and the children of Israel, God wants to provide for us today.
Today we walk in the blessings of God because of the work of another—Jesus. His finished work at the cross means that today, we get to enjoy forgiveness of sins, His favor, His anointing, His wisdom, and the precious gift of the Holy Spirit.
Every single day we have a wonderful Friend, the Holy Spirit, who leads us and guides us step by step. We keep in step with the Spirit.
Right before Jesus died on the cross, He initiated the Last Supper (the holy Communion) in the upper room.
The significance of the upper room:
The church has been preoccupied with the Ten Commandments which God gave to Israel on Mount Sinai (see Exod. 31:18). Mount Sinai is known for the truths of the law.
On another mountain, Mount Zion, Jesus gave us church truths.
The church is God’s dream. The church is Christ’s bride.
The Lord says, “I rejoice over you as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride.” (Isa. 62:5). In other words, He’s never bored. He’s always passionate. He’s always deeply in love with us.
In the upper room, He shared truths concerning us—the church that He loves. Some examples are:
Our identity in Christ
We are one with Jesus.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
— John 15:5 NKJV
A vine is literally made up of branches. Jesus meant that we are so wrapped up together with Him that the same life, power, glory, and energy that flow through Him also flows in us.
How can the vine be rich and the branches poor? How can the vine be healthy and the branches sick? How can the vine be peaceful and the branches be worried and full of cares?
The only way you can hinder the sap from flowing into a branch is to constrict the flow. How? By becoming stressed, by trying to get hold of things on your own instead of letting go and trusting the Lord.
Jesus shared truths on God’s supply and provision in the upper room (Mount Zion), not truths on the law that demands from us (Mount Sinai).
On Mount Zion, the church truths that Jesus shared were all about God’s supply. All about how He would give the Holy Spirit to help and comfort us. How He would always be with us.
The new commandment
Another church truth that Jesus unveiled in the upper room is the new commandment for us to love one another as He has loved us.
We cannot love until we first know and receive His love for us.
We are friends of God
Another truth that Jesus revealed was that He sees us as His friends.
“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
— John 15:15 NKJV
What a privileged position to be in. We serve Jesus but we are His friends. He has taken us into the intimacies of His heart.
—
As the church, we should be focusing on these truths that Jesus shared in the upper room concerning us.
The Temple of Solomon is also a picture of the church. The teaching of the three chambers in the Temple of Solomon is a prophetic teaching for our times because it speaks of how God has made provision for the church in this season. Provision for what we are facing and what we will face in the days to come.
Recap of the three chambers in the Temple of Solomon:
Actually, the second-floor also contains the truth of the grain and wine (the holy Communion).
The upper room is a picture of the second-floor because it was on the second floor of the building. In the upper room, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples and He instituted the Lord’s Supper (grain and the wine). He brought the grain and wine up to the second floor.
In the upper room, Jesus “took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me’” (Luke 22:19).
“for you” — Partaking of the grain and the wine is not for the angels. It is not reserved for people who qualify by their performance or behavior. It is for you. And “for you” also means there are benefits for you to receive. What are these benefits? It could be healing and long life for you. All these benefits have been covered by the atoning work of Jesus at the cross (see Isaiah 53 and Matthew 8:17)
“Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”
— Luke 22:20 NKJV
Difference between the old covenant and the new covenant:
The main clause of the old covenant is:
“by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
— Exodus 34:7 NKJV
When Jesus came to establish the new covenant, He came to do the will of the Father which is to remove the first (the old covenant) and establish the second (the new covenant).
“Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’ ”
. . . then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”
He takes away the first that He may establish the second.”
— Hebrews 10:7, 9 NKJV
Jesus came to establish the new covenant.
The main feature of the new covenant is:
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
— Hebrews 10:16–17 NKJV
“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” — God is no longer dealing with you based on sin. God is dealing with you based on the fact that you have been forgiven of all your sins.
When God does deal with you, i.e. when God disciplines and trains you, He does not do this through accidents or diseases. He “child-trains” us with words or through circumstances that cause you to feel frustrated. He does so to humble you because He loves you. So our Father does train us because He loves us.
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
— Hebrews 10:16–17 NKJV
“I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them” — Under the new covenant, God writes His laws on our hearts, e.g. the new covenant laws of loving one another, as Christ loved us. His laws are not something we try to internalize from outside in. But we walk in them from the inside out.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
— Hebrews 8:10 NKJV
“I will be their God, and they shall be My people” — What does this mean for you? If you are sick, He will be your healer. If you are broke, He will be your provider. If you are besieged by enemies like the COVID-19, He will be your keeper, your defender, and your protector.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
— Hebrews 8:10 NKJV
“I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts” — Under the new covenant, we do not have to ask God what His requirements (laws) are for us. He will write them in our hearts and minds. All we need to do is to listen to the Holy Spirit in us. He leads us in His ways (see Philippians 2:13).
“I will be their God” — God will do supernatural things for us because He is our God and we are His people.
“None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.”
— Hebrews 8:11 NKJV
“all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them” — Why would God be our God? Why would God allow us to have a supernatural, intuitive, and intimate knowledge of Him? Because of this amazing truth: “their sins and lawless deeds, I will remember no more.”
Under the old covenant of law, God said, “I will by no means forget your sins.”
Under the new covenant of grace, God says, “I will by no means remember your sins.”
When God says He won’t remember your sins, He means He will not punish you or visit your sins in future generations. All our sins are forgiven, past, present, and future.
The more we know that we are forgiven, the more we can love Him. Those that are forgiven much will love much (see Luke 7:47).
Whenever we partake of the Lord’s Supper (the grain and wine) we are speaking the Lord’s language of love. Whenever we partake, we are remembering Jesus and proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes.
Jesus partook of the holy Communion in the upper room (which was on the second-floor). This tells us that even when we ascend from the first-floor, the grain and the wine are still important. We don’t ascend beyond the need for the holy Communion because whenever we partake, we are remembering Jesus and proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes.
Every time you proclaim the Lord’s death, something powerful happens. He answers from heaven. The God of Jacob will defend you. In the upper room we see the truths of the grain and the wine.
Every time you proclaim the Lord’s death, something powerful happens on your behalf. The Lord gives you victory over your enemies. He fights for you. He answers from heaven and does supernatural things!
In this challenging time that the world is dealing with COVID-19, God has a NOW word for us.
Recap of the teaching on the winding stairs in the Temple of Solomon
“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.”
— 1 Kings 6:7–8 KJV
Winding stairs, compared to straight stairs, allow you to climb the maximum height in the smallest possible space and in the shortest amount of time.
When you ascend the winding stairs, you might feel like you’re going round and round in circles because you cannot see the end.
This idea of “going around in circles” can also be seen in Psalm 23.
“He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.”
— Psalm 23:3 NKJV
“paths of righteousness” — “paths” in Hebrew means “circles.” If a shepherd tried leading his sheep up a hill by getting them to take a straight, direct route up, his sheep would get weary, tired, and discouraged. What a wise shepherd would do is lead his sheep up the hill so that they don’t even realize they’re ascending. He does this by leading the sheep in “circles of righteousness.” The sheep go up the hill by going in circles around it. They feed as they ascend and without effort, they reach the top.
The “paths of righteousness” are like the winding stairs—we might not be able to see 2-3 steps ahead because they’re around the bend, but we can be assured in knowing that the Lord is guiding us every step of the way and He has provided for us. We do not need to worry.
Don’t try to use today’s manna for tomorrow. The grace that comes is only for today.
Because there is grace enough for the day, we are compelled to walk by faith. Let us live in the present.
The COVID-19 virus is not from God, but He can make use of anything the devil throws and turn it around for our good.
“The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.”
— 1 Kings 6:6 KJV
“five cubits broad” — “five” is the number of grace.
“six cubits broad” — “six” is the number of man. The second-floor chamber serves man’s needs.
“seven cubits broad” — “seven” is the number of perfection.
The chambers get bigger as we ascend higher, this speaks of how the Lord will always lead us to a larger place, a wealthier place, a broader place. Just like He brought the Israelites out of Egypt (double stress) into a wealthy place, a place flowing with milk and honey.
God is leading us toward this “broader” place right now, even though you might feel like you are regressing or could have done more in your career or made more money.
Follow the Lord’s leading and live your life a day at a time. When you look back, you will find that you have ascended and you are in a larger place, a wealthier place, a broader place.
There’s a story in Acts 20 where the apostle Paul is preaching in an upper room that is on the third floor. This story reveals how the church can walk in good fortune in the days ahead.
“Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”
— Acts 20:7 NKJV
Paul is the greatest apostle who ever lived. He was brought up to the third heaven and he heard revelations that God did not allow him to share with others. What he was allowed to tell, we are still trying to understand.
The whole Bible is inspired by God and it is written for our benefits. But not everything is written to us. Paul’s letters are written directly to us and so it benefits us to study Paul’s letters.
“when the disciples came together to break bread” — Despite the fact that Paul was the greatest apostle and preacher, the main reason the disciples came together was to break bread, not to hear Paul preach. They came together to speak God’s love language—partaking of the holy Communion.
Every time we partake of the holy Communion, we are speaking God’s love language because we are reminding God of His Son’s sacrifice and this delights God’s heart.
God doesn’t reside in time. To God, Jesus’s sacrifice is fresh.
Jesus laid down His life so that “the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do” (see John 14:31).
God loves His Son, and even more so when Jesus laid down His life for us (see John 10:17).
Every time we proclaim the Lord’s death, God is pleased.
We keep photos of our loved ones to look at over and over because we like to be reminded of them. God too loves to be reminded of His loved one—Jesus. And every time we partake of the holy Communion, we remind God of His beloved Son, Jesus. God loves that.
“Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together.”
— Acts 20:7–8 NKJV
Pastor Prince shares a revelation from Exodus 11:4 where the root word of “midnight” in Hebrew is the same word for “winding stairs.” So if you’re in a dark, midnight season of your life, if you’re filled with uncertainty and anxiety, Pastor Prince encourages you to live one day at a time. Know that when tomorrow comes, when next week comes, God’s supply and provisions will be there. If you are depressed, look to the Lord and live one day at a time. Don’t worry about tomorrow and keep asking yourself, “What if?”
“There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.”
— Acts 20:8–9 NKJV
This upper room is not the same room where Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and celebrated the Passover.
“third story” — this corresponds with the third-floor chamber in the Temple of Solomon where the gold and treasures are stored. What is in the New Testament helps us understand what is in the Old Testament. The new is in the old concealed. The old is in the new revealed.
This upper room is the same place where the disciples gathered on the day of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit was given and 3,000 people were saved (see Acts 1:13). So this upper room is not just a place of silver and gold, but it is the place of the Holy Spirit.
And this third-story upper room is also the same room where after Paul raised Eutychus from the dead, they broke bread (see Acts 20:11). So the grain and the wine can also be found in this third-story upper room.
The holy Communion is important at every level
As we ascend, the holy Communion never leaves us because God always wants this new covenant truth to be central.
“There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together.”
— Acts 20:8 NKJV
“There were many lamps in the upper room” — The place where God’s people meet is always bright.
This can also be seen in Egypt where the Israelites were still in captivity:
“They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”
— Exodus 10:23 NKJV
“They did not see one another” — the darkness was so thick, the Egyptians could not see one another. But the “children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” This is supernatural light because if it was natural light, the Egyptians could have availed themselves of the same light (using lamps and such). But this light was supernatural, which is why only the children of Israel, God’s people, had it.
In this time of darkness, the children of God are like the “many lamps.” Light is best seen in darkness and we shine in this time.
“And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.”
— Acts 20:9 NKJV
“Eutychus — means “good fortune”.
Why did the church lose good fortune?
“who was sinking into a deep sleep” — The young man fell asleep during Paul’s preaching. So the church has lost its good fortune because it has fallen asleep (forgotten) the Pauline revelation.
What is the Pauline revelation? It is the teachings on the gift of righteousness through Christ Jesus, the forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of His grace, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the mysteries of the church now revealed.
“he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead” — The young man fell from his high place (hearing and receiving grace). Grace is not just “the basics.” You start with grace and you end with grace. You never progress beyond grace. To fall from grace means that grace is the high place.
The Ten Commandments are in the ark of the covenant. No one is supposed to look into the ark and take out the law because that only brings death. The only place for the law, Jesus said, is in His heart. Only Jesus can keep the law perfectly.
"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."
— Galatians 5:4 NKJV
We never want Christ to be of no effect to us. When we are sick, we want Christ—His health and healing—to be of effect to us. If we have destructive habits or addictions, we want Christ to be our holiness and sanctifying power.
Christ becomes of no effect when you put your trust in your ability to keep the law. When you tell people to trust Jesus and yet they still need to keep the law to be accepted and blessed, you cause people to fall from grace and Christ becomes of no effect to them.
When you revert to the law, you will see the grace gifts stop.
Maybe this is why the church has not seen results. The church is trying to get back to the law, causing us to fall even more from grace.
The church has lost their good fortune because they have fallen from grace.
To have good fortune, we need to go back to the Pauline revelation which is written to us.
"But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed."
— Acts 20:10–11 NKJV
Paul embraced the young man. This is also a message for us to embrace the young people that come into our church. They are our good fortune, we are to love them and not to shun them. We are to embrace them with the Pauline revelation of grace.
The way we bring people out of their deep sleep (lack of revelation of Jesus and His finished work) is to embrace them with the Pauline revelation and it will raise them out of death into life.
"But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed."
— Acts 20:10–11 NKJV
Look at how important the Lord’s Supper is to Paul: even after he raised someone from the dead, he still partook of it.
“And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.”
— Acts 20:9 NKJV
The young man fell out of the building because he was sitting by the window. This is a picture of a person sitting on the fence; a person who is checking out various churches and teachings and not being faithful to commit to their church.
“But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.”
— Acts 20:10–11
We are to hold fast to Pauline revelation till daybreak, till the night season is over.
It is important to always remember we are people of the new covenant.
We are not on Mount Sinai, where the law was given and 3,000 people died. Today, we dwell on Mount Zion where God gave the Spirit and 3,000 people were saved. This tells us that the law kills but the Spirit gives life.
We need to spend time in church truths—the new covenant truths that Jesus gave in the upper room.
See the difference between the new covenant and the old covenant. You will not lose the Old Testament. You will bring out the treasures of the old because of the new.
Daybreak is coming. Take one step at a time like the sheep along the paths of righteousness.
We don’t have to worry about the end. When you ascend the winding stairs, you cannot see the end but just follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Before you know it, you will make heavenly strides and ascend higher and higher. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself in a higher place.
When God provides for you, you will be in a place that is larger than you were before. And this will happen effortlessly.
Pray this prayer:
“Father, in Jesus' name, I pray that not a single one hearing me right now will fall from grace. Instead of that, Father, we celebrate Lord what He has done for us. Father in Jesus’ name, I thank You for forgiving me of all my sins—past, present, and future. Thank You, Father, that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. Thank You, Father, that You raised Him from the dead when I was declared righteous.
Thank You, Father God, that I am in Christ at Your right hand, far above all principalities and power, might and dominion, over every name that is named plus COVID-19. Amen. And above every name that can be named even in the world to come. Thank You, Father God, that I'm safe and secure in Christ at Your right hand, dearly loved and highly favored. In Jesus' name, 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.
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