The Secret To Health And Healing Revealed
Sunday, 4 October 2020
These are notes on the sermon, The Secret To Health And Healing Revealed, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 4 October 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 sermon by reminding us that wherever we are tuning in from, the Lord is with each of us right where we are.
While it might feel disappointing that we cannot physically meet during this time, the positive side is that we are walking in greater faith. We are seeing beyond the visible realm as we gather together in the spirit.
“For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.”
— Colossians 2:5 KJV
Pastor Prince shares that earlier in the year, the Lord showed him this verse and told him to behold the congregation tuning in in the spirit. This is also an encouragement to other pastors and leaders who have taken their ministry online: Once you enter the realm of seeing people in the spirit, you can discern their needs in the spirit and minister to their needs in the spirit.
We are spirit beings. God has made us tripartite beings—consisting of a spirit, a soul (our mind and emotions), and a body. While our body is visible, it is only temporal. When Jesus returns for us, we will be transformed in an instant and have a new, glorified body.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” — In another Bible translation, “a new creation” is translated as “a new species that never before existed.” This new creation is neither Jew nor Gentile but one new man in Christ (see Gal. 3:28).
This “new creation” refers to your spirit since your body remains the same after you are saved. In Christ, everything that was unclean, dead, and decaying has passed away. You are now born again in the spirit. The real you is born again and is now a new creation!
Meanwhile here on earth, the only thing that we are waiting for is our new body. Your resurrected body will be a body that is tangible yet transcends matter, time, and space, like Jesus’ own glorious body.
“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 NKJV
God has given you a ministry—the ministry of reconciliation. It is with this ministry of reconciliation that we reach out to our friends, family members, and colleagues to tell them that God wants to reconcile them to Himself, not judge them for their sins.
Jesus gave us the Great Commission to preach the gospel to all nations.
“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
— Mark 16:15 NKJV
When we say “the gospel,” what are we referring to?
Firstly, the gospel is for everyone because “God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Secondly, in the New Testament, the gospel is described as “the gospel of grace” (Acts 20:24). In fact, whatever is not the grace of Christ is considered “a different gospel” (Gal 1:6). The gospel is also known as “the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15).
The gospel is about being reconciled to God through the redemptive work of Jesus, not our own efforts.
The true gospel is not about you needing to set things right before coming to God and repenting of every sin. That’s impossible. When you believe the true gospel—that Christ has reconciled you to God—then your hard thoughts about God are changed. That is called repentance toward God.
True repentance, as preached by the apostle Paul (Acts 20:21), is changing your mind about God and realizing He is not against you or angry with you.
In the face of increasing lawlessness, breakdowns in family morals, and many values we hold dear today, the world needs the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says in the end, lawlessness will increase (Matt. 24:12), but it also says that when darkness covers the earth, the glory of the Lord will shine upon you (Isa. 60:2).
While we want people to have strong morals and character, these are but fruits of the gospel of grace and peace. The world does not need the preaching of morality but rather the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2).
God wants us to see the vital importance of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the answer to all of society's ills.
“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
— 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 NKJV
As mentioned earlier, God has given all of us “the ministry of reconciliation,” which means we are to share with people that God is reconciling them to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them.
Even though the world is rife with unrest, rebellion, and the breakdown of family values, God is not counting their sins against them.
Do you know how Jesus Himself sees the world?
“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
— Matthew 9:36 NKJV
When Jesus saw the people scattered in the countryside, He saw them not as rebellious people, but as sheep without a shepherd. He didn't see them as people who wanted to go astray, but who were scattered because they were hungry and had no shepherd.
You can see people for the profit or benefit they can offer you or you can choose to see them the way Jesus does and love them with the love of Christ.
The greatest of the Ten Commandments is, “Thou shalt love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength,” but no one has been able to fulfill it except Jesus.
You cannot fulfill the law. The purpose of the law is to expose us and give us the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20). While we cannot love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind, and all our strength, Jesus chose to love us with all His heart, all His soul, all His mind, all His strength, and He died for us on the cross. The Bible says now we love God and we love one another because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
Friend, receive this word as the Lord loving you and reaching out to you. He is loving you today! When you open the Bible, remember your good Shepherd loving you and wanting to feed you with His words.
“To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book . . . ”
— Luke 4:19–20 KJV
“acceptable” — This is the Greek word “dektos” which refers to the acceptable, favorable year or age in which the free favors of God profusely abound. When Jesus declared this age of free favors, He was quoting from Isaiah 61. Right after He said this, He closed the book.
But if we look at Isaiah 61, where Jesus stopped reading was not where the sentence actually ended:
“To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;”
— Isaiah 61:2 NKJV
Jesus deliberately did not read the portion about “the day of vengeance of our God.” His first coming was to bring grace, to bring the acceptable age of the Lord, the “dektos” age that we are in now. We are not in the day of vengeance. We are still in the favorable year of the Lord.
That is why today we must know how to rightly discern the Word so that we understand what is relevant to us now and what is not.
The only way for you to not experience these free favors of God is to not believe it. Today, change your mind (‘metanoia,’ that is, repent) and believe that God is loving you and not counting your sins against you. At the cross, a divine exchange took place—Jesus received our sin and became sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ. That's the gospel of Jesus Christ and the ministry of reconciliation.
“ . . . that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:19 NKJV
When Jesus was on earth healing people, He never imputed their trespasses to them, called out their sin, or expected them to set their lives straight before He healed them (see Mark 6:56). The one time He called out someone’s sin before He healed the person was to say, “ . . . your sins are forgiven you . . . Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (see Matt. 9:2–6). Even though the people who came to Jesus for healing still had sin in their lives and they were all not yet born again, Jesus treated them as though their sins were not accounted to them and He healed them.
Healing is not only for believers but also for people who are not yet saved. Once people receive their healing, the goodness of God leads them to repentance.
God does not need to be reconciled to us; we are the ones who need to be reconciled to God. What stops people from being reconciled to God is them having an inaccurate opinion of Him, thinking that He is a hard God who is angry with them. But the truth is that God is waiting with His arms wide open, like the father waiting for the prodigal son to come home (see Luke 15:11–24).
Grace is not cheap. By grace, we receive the blessings of God freely but they were bought at an immeasurably high price—the blood of Christ. Jesus paid for our salvation that includes the abundant life here on earth. It is free for us, but it cost Him everything.
Sometimes, one of the reasons people cannot receive healing is that they do not understand that they can freely receive it.
For example, when it comes to loving others generously, only those who have freely received can freely give. So if you do not believe you have received forgiveness of all your sins freely, you cannot forgive others freely either.
“ . . . forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
—Ephesians 4:32 KJV
The apostle Paul wrote that under grace, we forgive because we have been forgiven. The motivation to forgive others has now changed. The focus is not on how you need to forgive but instead on how you have been forgiven.
“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJV
“Reconciled” — It is the Greek phrase “kata allassō,” where “kata” means “down to the exact point” and “allassō” means “exchange” (as in the exchange of coins).
“Kata allassō” does not just refer to a reconciliation, but also a divine exchange. The Father loves you so much that He sent His Son who knew no sin to take your place and bear all the judgment that is due you. God made Jesus to be sin for you that you might become the righteousness of God in Him.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
How can you say, with all your faults and failings, that you’re righteous? Apart from His actions, Jesus received our sins at the cross. In the same way, apart from your actions, you received His righteousness and are the righteousness of God in Christ.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
— Romans 1:16 NKJV
“Salvation” — This is the Greek word “sōtēria” which is an all-encompassing word meaning health, healing, protection and well-being for you and your family, as well as eternal life in the life to come.
“Sōzō” is the verb for “sōtēria”—it means “heal” and was used when Jesus said in the Bible, “Your faith has healed you” (see Matt. 9:22, Luke 17:19).
Salvation is more than being saved from hell. God wants to bring heaven and the Holy Spirit into your life. You are the kingdom of heaven walking on earth, a mobile temple in whom the Holy Spirit dwells!
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.””
— Romans 1:16–17 NKJV
“from faith to faith” — We start our Christian life by faith and we continue our Christian life by faith. Good works will manifest if you are in faith. You will produce good works, not dead works.
Take our father of faith, Abraham. Abraham demonstrated faith without works and was saved by grace. In the Bible, he was justified by faith by simply believing God (see Gen 15:5) but was only justified by works more than ten years later when he offered his son Isaac to God on the altar (see James 2:21). This happened at least 10–20 years after Abraham was first declared righteous.
Pastor Prince shares that during this challenging time, when many of us are confined to our homes, we have observed a new season being ushered in where many healings are taking place right in people’s homes.
Without a doubt, God’s heart is for you to be well (see 3 John 1:2).
“Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.”
— Luke 13:10–11 NKJV
In the gospel of Luke, a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for 18 years came to the synagogue on the Sabbath. This condition was not something that God wanted for her.
God does not teach us lessons through sickness. God wants us to always be asking and trusting Him for healing.
It is important we know that when the gift of healing manifests, it can always be verified by a doctor and stand the test of medical science. Friend, if you believe you have been healed of a condition, do not stop your treatment or medication unless the manifestation comes and has been verified by your doctor.
There are times when you might see a 30-fold manifestation of healing, which is not complete healing yet. At this point, if you are receiving treatment for your condition, do exercise wisdom and continue your treatment until you receive the 100-fold manifestation of your healing. The good news is that the 60-fold and 100-fold manifestation of your healing is on the way!
When it comes to healing, the Lord wants you to know without a doubt that He wants you to be well.
Let’s look at the story of the woman who was infirmed for 18 years. Observe the difference between how the ruler of the synagogue (a religious leader) saw her versus how Jesus saw her.
“But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.”
— Luke 13:12–17 NKJV
“men ought to work” VS “ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham . . . be loosed” — The ruler of the synagogue felt that “men ought to work” as he was fixated on the law. However, Jesus felt that the woman “ought to be loosed” and liberated from her bondage.
“Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?” — What Jesus meant was, “Should not the one who is sick be healed?” Many times in the Bible, animals such as the ox and donkey are pictures of you and I. And water is a picture of healing (that is why water is used for the cleansing of lepers). Water is also a picture of the Word of God. In essence, when you give the Word of God to people who are sick, they receive healing.
—
There is another time that Jesus uses the analogy of an ox and donkey. It is in the next chapter, Luke 14.
“Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” And they could not answer Him regarding these things.”
— Luke 14:1–6 NKJV
“a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit” — Jesus has a heart of compassion for the sick. Jesus never looked at a sick person and said, “You’re sick because of your sin.” When Jesus looked at sick people, He saw them as having stumbled unknowingly into a pit. He never imputed shame or guilt on them for being sick.
And once again, He used this example of a donkey and an ox when it comes to the healing of the sick. This is a significant detail.
Last week, Pastor Prince shared from Exodus 22 about the laws concerning stealing and restoration of stolen items.
“For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.”
— Exodus 22:9 ESV
Today, we are looking at the previous chapter, Exodus 21, which also mentions an ox and a donkey. Whenever we read the Old Testament, the goal is always to see Jesus.
“And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.”
— Exodus 21:33–34 NKJV
“if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, the owner of the pit shall make it good” — The blame is not on the one who fell in but the one who opened the pit. In Luke 14, the story of the man with dropsy, the people who “opened the pit” are the Pharisees.
These verses about an ox and a donkey in Exodus 21 point to the incidents in Luke 13 and 14—where we see Jesus’ heart of compassion for sick people and His willingness and ability to heal them.
When it comes to people who are sick, Jesus is not interested in whose sin caused the sickness. He is only interested in meeting that need.
Friend, look to Jesus. He is the Messiah, the Savior, and He has the power to meet your every need.
Right at the beginning of Exodus 21, the chapter alluding to the healing of the sick in Luke 13 and 14, we read about the law concerning servants.
The Lord wants us to understand something important here about the correlation between healing and having a revelation of Him as a servant.
“If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it,”
— Exodus 21:32–33 NKJV
Once again, when we read the Old Testament, we are looking out for pictures of Jesus.
“thirty shekels of silver” — This verse tells us that a servant is worth 30 shekels of silver. That is the same amount paid to Judas Iscariot for betraying Jesus.
When Jesus came to earth, He came as a servant (see Matt. 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 13:1–17).
When we understand that Jesus desires to serve us—in fact, it is what He has purposed in His heart to do—we will live life differently and be able to receive from Him more.
In Exodus 21:1–6, it is said that a servant who chooses to remain with his master after the required six years of service can do so by allowing his ear to be pierced with an awl at the doorpost. This is a picture of Jesus allowing Himself to be crucified (see Ps. 40:6, Heb. 10:5).
Jesus was pierced because He came as a servant, not to be served but to serve. He serves us with healing, peace, and God's reconciliation.
In the gospel of Mark, we constantly see Jesus serving tirelessly. He is constantly moving around serving people, healing people, and ministering to people.
The Lord loves to serve you. In Luke 10:38–42, Martha wanted to serve Jesus but was rebuked because of her worries and cares in serving, while Mary allowed Jesus to serve her. Jesus said what Mary did would not be taken away from her as Mary has chosen the good part, the one thing needful.
—
Rest leads to healing
“Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.”
— Exodus 23:12 NKJV
This verse that mentions an ox and donkey is also pointing to Luke 13 and 14, where Jesus heals the sick and uses analogies about an ox and donkey.
In this verse, we find the secret to health and healing.
Many times, the reason people fall sick or become prey to the enemy is that they are not at rest. It is only when a person is moving around that they fall into a pit.
Now, rest is not to be observed with sin-consciousness (the constant threat of shame or guilt for not observing it).
The kind of rest we are talking about is internal—it is the sweet rest for your soul that Jesus offers everyone who is tired or heavy-laden because of the demands of the law (see Matt. 11:28–30).
The Lord wants us to receive rest first and foremost for our conscience—knowing that all our sins are forgiven because of His finished work. This rest in our conscience will affect us at the soul level (our thoughts and emotions, e.g. it will put an end to depression, anxiety, etc). Then it will affect our bodies (it will cause us to walk in health and wholeness).
The Christian life is a life of rest.
“He who dwells (“yashav” — sits) in the secret place of the Most High . . . ”
— Psalm 91:1 NKJV
Psalm 91:1 describes our lives as believers. Sitting is a picture of rest.
What does it mean to “sit” well? It means you rest in all that Christ has done. You believe He has freely forgiven you and given you every good thing. You allow Him to love you. You allow yourself to be in the position of a beneficiary, not a worker or a doer.
In that position of being seated, you are blessed with all blessings in heavenly places (see Eph. 1:3). Only then can you walk and then stand against the powers of darkness. Unless we sit, we are not able to walk.
The Bible says the only labor for believers today is to labor to rest (see Heb. 4:3, 11).
When the enemy questions what you are going to do about the challenges in your life, choose to let go of the pressure and stress to solve everything on your own and instead follow the leading of the Lord. As you choose to rest, the Holy Spirit’s promptings become clearer.
Being seated with Christ is the starting point for our lives as believers.
—
Earlier, we talked about how Exodus 23:12 mentions an ox and donkey and so points to Luke 13 and 14, indicating that this verse is talking about healing for the sick.
Using Bible code (discovered by a 13th-century Rabbi), in which divine secrets are discovered in the text of the Bible by skipping a specific interval of letters, we can see in Exodus 23:12 that sitting (resting) is the answer to health and healing.
In Hebrew, the word “sit” is “yashav.”
Using Bible code, we can see that the 3 Hebrew letters forming the word “yashav” are hidden in Exodus 23:12 (they are 10 letters apart each).
Sit down. For every fresh challenge, sit down. Say, “Jesus has got this, I’ll rest. The Lord will fight for me.”
The Hebrew word for “heal” is “rapha.” And the etymology of “rapha” is “raphah,” which means “relax,” to “let go,” and “weaken your hold.”
The Lord wants you to relax and let go. When you let go of your worries, God takes them. When you hold on to your worries, God lets go because He respects your free will.
Your health will spring forth speedily with every letting go!
Pastor Prince prays over these conditions/situations:
If you believe you received healing during this time of ministering, please see a doctor to verify it, then write in to us with your testimony.
“Thank You, Father, for loving Your people. Thank You, Father, that when You look at them, You see them blessed because You will never impute sin to them. Thank You, Father God, that they are Jesus-conscious and not sin-conscious. Therefore, they are being transformed from glory to glory. Throughout this week, thank You, Father, for preserving and protecting them and their families, their loved ones, from every danger, from every harm, from all the power of the evil one, and from the COVID-19 virus. Thank You, Lord, let Your hand of blessing and favor and grace be mighty on them and on their loved ones throughout this coming week. Let them see tokens, handfuls of blessings dropped on purpose for them this week, and they will gather it like Ruth gathered in the field. In the name of Jesus. Thank You, Father. And all the people say, 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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