These are notes on the sermon, True Prosperity In Every Area, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 11 November 2018, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Discover from Scripture how true prosperity from God gives you a glorious family life, robust peace despite life’s challenges, godly wisdom to make good decisions, and allows you to be a blessing to those around you.
We hope these notes will give you practical keys to:
In this sermon, Pastor Prince shows you how you can experience true prosperity—even in times of famine or lack—when you follow God’s way instead of the world’s.
Service opens with a video testimony of a woman in New Creation Church who was healed of a spinal disc disease during a Sunday service a few weeks ago.
Pastor Prince encourages us not to forsake the assembling of the church because people receive their miracles, healings, and breakthroughs as the Word goes forth.
We are the “11th hour generation”. In Matthew 20:1–16, the 11th hour workers in the parable of the vineyard workers are the ones who received the most favor. We are the generation that is favored by the Lord.
We are also known as the “Benjamin generation”. In Genesis 43:34 and 45:22, Benjamin received 5 times more food and clothing than all his brothers. We are the generation that receives 5 times more food (nourishment and revelation from the Word) and clothing (spiritual anointing) from the Lord.
In these end times, the world shall increase in knowledge, but also descend into moral darkness. Don’t be surprised or afraid when you see this. This is also when the church gets brighter and brighter.
We reach the people of the world by sharing the Good News with them. The only way to transform people from the inside out is to preach the gospel to them. Tell them that God loves them and Christ died for them. God is not looking out for their sin. He loves them and He is reaching out to them.
The church is for all kinds of people. Come and receive from God. There isn’t a qualification at the door that demands you to be “holy” or even a Christian before you can step inside.
The world needs Jesus. Even millionaires need Jesus. Money can’t compare to the peace that surpasses understanding that Jesus gives.
“Thus says the Lord:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me…”
— Jeremiah 9:23–24 NKJV
Too many people spend their lives trying to get rich. They lose their health to get wealth, then they spend their wealth to get back their health.
The greatest thing you can learn is to learn about Jesus.
Know God’s love and know that you are not an accident in this world. God meant for you to be born. You have a call and you have a purpose in life. God has designed you unique—there are no two fingerprints in this world that are alike. There never was anyone like you and there never will be anyone like you. There's only one of you and we need you. We need you because only you can fulfill the call that God has for you.
Don’t let money be your sole pursuit. We use money to serve the Lord. We use money to love people. We don’t love money and use people.
“There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;”
— Genesis 26:1–4 NKJV
“There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham.” — Famine = dry circumstances, seemingly no provision, no supply. Famine happens even in the lives of people who are blessed (like Abraham and Isaac).
Maybe you’re experiencing a famine of favor. It seems like things are against you instead of for you.
God is for you. God is for your happiness. Even if it means that for a season, you get angry with Him or misunderstand Him, He will allow you to take that journey so that you end up in the place that’s best for you.
The things that God speaks to us through His Word in times of famine are for our good. When God wrote the Bible, He wrote it for our success.
The greatest success is to know Him, and then make Him known.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (see Prov. 9:10). That means that people of the world don’t have access to this wisdom. They have knowledge, but not divine wisdom. We need God’s wisdom for the times we live in.
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“There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;”
— Genesis 26:1–4 NKJV
Isaac found himself in the days of famine and “went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.” — Gerar is in the promised land. Yet there were enemies, the Philistines, in the promised land.
It is possible to be in the promised land and find that someone else is in charge. Do you ever feel like you’re at the tail end of things in your workplace instead of the head?
With the blessing of God, you will end up the head (see Deut. 28:13).
But sometimes, we go through tests so that God can show us what’s in our hearts. He already knows what’s in our hearts. He just wants us to see it.
Many times, we cannot see how proud we are until circumstances bring out how easily offended we are. Be able to assess yourself.
God loves you. He wants to strengthen you “with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy” (see Col. 1:11).
A strong believer has perseverance and patience. Perseverance is for adverse circumstances. Patience is for difficult people. And you can go through these experiences “with joy.”
Maybe things are not going your way and you are being disappointed because God is strengthening you in all patience. Because He loves you.
What happens when patience has its work in you?
“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
— James 1:4 NKJV
Unless David had battled the lion and the bear, he could not have gone against Goliath (see 1 Sam. 17:34–37).
People who have gone through the school of God develop character. They learn to be humble and learn how to give glory to God. And God can prepare them for greater success.
It’s because He loves you. If your character cannot take your success, you will end up destroying yourself. For example, if you think it’s fine to tell “white lies” right now and you continue doing it, when you’re promoted to a higher level, there will be more serious consequences.
“There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;”
— Genesis 26:1–4 NKJV
When Isaac was in famine and went down to Gerar, God told him, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.” — Egypt represents the world.
Don’t go down the ways of the world. What does the world do? On Sundays, they don’t go to church because they want to “relax.” But do you find that you can do that and still feel tired on Mondays?
When we spend time with God, He will give us quality time. Keep coming to church. Keep praying. Keep trusting that good is coming.
This is God’s wisdom.
These are the blessings of wisdom in Proverbs 3:2 NKJV:
“For length of days and long life
And peace they will add to you.”
“Length of days” — This is different from long life. Length of days means that your days become full. Full of enjoyment, full of precious moments. You’ll experience the kind of days that you wish won’t end.
“Peace” — This is this Hebrew word “shalom,” which means health, well-being, and wholeness.
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So Isaac did what the Lord said:
“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.”
— Genesis 26:12 NKJV
“Then Isaac sowed in that land.” — Isaac sowed in the year of famine. Abraham’s family sows in the year of famine. We are Abraham’s seed (see Gal. 3:29).
Maybe you have been giving to God and you have been tithing, but there still seems to be a famine. What do you do? Keep persevering. Keep sowing. The world cannot understand this, but we are different. We are in Abraham’s family.
“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.”
— Genesis 26:12–14 NKJV
When Isaac sowed, he “reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.”
Pastor Prince emphasizes that he is against greed and the love of money. He is against loving money more than loving God and loving people.
But the truth still stands that Bible prosperity includes material blessings.
Prosperity in the bible is:
Isaac had “possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him” (Gen. 26:14).
The Philistines are people of the world. They saw with their physical eyes the visible blessing of God on Isaac.
We believers are supposed to make the world jealous of God’s blessings on us. The Hebrew word for “blessing” is “barak,” which also means “to be envied.”
“Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who fears (reveres and worships) the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments.”
— Psalm 112:1 AMPC
Don’t apologise when God blesses you. But don’t be proud either. Give the glory to God and include people—tell them: “I’m not special, you should see my life. But God is gracious to me and blessed me. He can bless you too.”
“For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.”
— Deuteronomy 8:7–10 NKJV
First and foremost, the promised land is a “good land.” But it also has “valleys and hills.”
God brings you on mountaintops and He also allows you to go down to the valleys. Jesus brought His disciples up to the mountaintop but also came back down with them (see Mark 9). Why? Because there was a demon-possessed boy to deliver. Because there were people to heal and minister to.
God allows you to go down to the valleys so that you might be a messenger to set people free.
The promised land is a land of “pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey.”
“Pomegranates” — Pastor Prince shares from Song of Songs 4:3 about how the red seeds of a pomegranate represent our thoughts having been washed clean by the blood of Jesus. Today, we can have positive, clean thoughts. Thoughts that are fruitful, thoughts that produce good things in our lives.
“a land of olive oil and honey” — Pastor Prince talks about the health benefits of olive oil and honey.
Study the Word of God, go deeper into it. God lays up sound wisdom for the righteous in His Word (see Prov. 2:7).
“Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.”
— Genesis 26:2 NKJV
God told Isaac not to go “down” into Egypt. To follow the ways of the world is to go down. When you go to God, you go up.
The Hebrew word for Egypt is “Mizraim,” which means “double straits” or “double stress / distress.” Egypt is a land sandwiched by desert. The desert blows its dry sands into Egypt. *See slide 18 for topographical map of Egypt.
A land of dryness
God doesn’t want you to go down into a place of double stress, a land of dryness.
Egypt hardly has rainfall. Their only sustenance is the River Nile. Back then, no one knew the source of the River Nile.
Similarly, the world enjoys some sustenance and blessings but they don’t know they are from God. They don’t know the source of everything good.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
— James 1:17 NKJV
As believers, we know our source. That’s why we worship God, that’s why we tithe to Him—because we know that He is our source.
A land of death
A large feature of Ancient Egypt that is kept until now is “the book of the dead.”
The world glorifies symbols of death.
As believers, death is not for us because of Jesus’ finished work.
Jesus is all about life. He killed death by dying. When He died, death died.
Christians don’t die, they fall asleep. And there’s a generation that won’t even fall asleep, but they’ll be transformed into a glorified body when the rapture happens.
A land of painful toil
“and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.”
— Deuteronomy 11:9–12 NKJV
“watered it by foot” — The land of Egypt was a land where people had to irrigate their fields tirelessly.
In the world, it takes a lot of painful effort to get good results.
But for us believers, when God blesses us, we are abundantly blessed without stress or overworking.
When God blesses you, you become someone who loves Him. You have time to spend with your loved ones. Time to come to church. Time to enjoy yourself. Time to enjoy God’s goodness. That’s true prosperity.
Don’t be like the world: Spending their health to get wealth, then spending their wealth to get health.
Do things God's way. Don't go the way of Egypt, the way of the world.
He brings you a land “flowing with milk and honey”—notice again that it's not a land “of” milk and honey, it is a land “flowing” with milk and honey. This is abundance.
“but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.”
— Deuteronomy 11:11–12 NKJV
“drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares” — Our blessings are from heaven. God is our source.
Don’t envy the world.
The grass might look greener on the other side—until you get there.
Pastor Prince gives advice on marriage:
Men, don’t be tempted to go after another woman. When you get to the other side, you will face the same struggles. Choose to invest in your marriage.
Revelations 2:5 tells us what to do when we fall out of love: Do the first works. Do what you used to do at the beginning, and the feelings will return.
Wisdom from God is a different kind of wisdom from the world’s.
Just because you asked God for wisdom today doesn’t mean you don’t need to ask God for wisdom tomorrow.
Teach your children wisdom too. Solomon’s son Rehoboam did not have wisdom even though his father was the wisest man who ever lived. In the Old Testament, there were kings who were godly but had wicked sons, and vice versa.
Teach your children God’s Word. That’s more important than what they’re studying in school. True education is in spirit, soul, and body—it’s holistic.
There are many intellectual fools in this world. The most important thing is to know the Lord.
The kingdom split under King Rehoboam’s rule because of an unwise decision (see I Kings 12:6–17). Rehoboam lacked humility.
“By humility and the fear of the LORD
Are riches and honor and life.”
— Proverbs 22:4 NKJV
God’s wisdom leads to riches, honor, and life—things that are sought after by the world.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
— Proverbs 9:10 NKJV
Some people have not even begun to have wisdom. They might be intellectually smart, but they lack wisdom. Pastor Prince shares an example of a doctor he knows who smokes despite knowing all the dangers of smoking.
With all the knowledge that people might have, there’s no point if they don’t know how to use it.
“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power”
— Ephesians 1:15–19 NKJV
When this happens—“the eyes of your understanding being enlightened”—we will be able to see and understand things before our physical eyes see them.
“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;”
— Colossians 1:9–11 NKJV
“do not cease to pray” — We should be asking for wisdom continually.
When we are “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” and “increasing in the knowledge of God,” then we will be “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.”
We are strengthened so that we will become cool, calm, and collected people.
It takes strengthening from the Lord to be a patient person. It takes strengthening from the Lord to persevere in the midst of trials.
The first thing to ask God for is wisdom.
“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption”
— 1 Corinthians 1:30 NKJV
Christ is wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption to us. But He is first wisdom.
James 3:15–17 NKJV shows us the difference between wisdom from the world and wisdom from God:
Wisdom from the world: “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”
Wisdom from God: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”
Rehoboam lacked wisdom from God. He lacked humility. He didn’t realize that without the people, there would be no king.
Leaders are there to serve. Jesus was always there to serve—healing the sick, cleansing the lepers. He is the King of kings and He uses His power to heal and to set people free.
This is our King. We live in His kingdom where His kingly touch and authority is over everything of ours. Every area of our lives.
Pastor Prince shares how when he studies God’s Word, God gives him wisdom to organize, administrate, and even advise people with more experience than him.
He encourages us all to recognise our need for wisdom and ask for it every single day.
“Father, in Jesus name, as we step into an entirely new week, we pray that you go ahead of us as You have promised and make all the crooked places straight. Let every valley be exalted and every mountain—every proud, frightful thing—be brought low. I pray, Father, that You prosper our way and prosper everything we touch, as you have promised: “Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” We ask for true prosperity to know You more and more, Lord. Father, in Jesus name, as we and our families step into this week, protect us from every danger, from every infection, and from all the powers of darkness. In Jesus name, we ask. Thank You, Father, that your favor is on us. We love You and we proclaim that You are the source of all our blessings, favor, and good things in our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
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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 2018
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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