In this Gospel Partner episode, learn how to hear the voice of God and make Spirit-led decisions. About Gospel Partner Gospel Partner is a publishing house committed to advancing the gospel of grace. Our mission is to find ways to make Jesus-centered, grace-based teaching resources completely free for those who cannot afford them. If you would like to join us in this global publishing mission reaching over 150 nations, and receive access to more than 1,000 sermons by Joseph Prince, visit: https://bit.ly/42OCVVm
Here are other ways you can support the mission: • Become a supporter on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3Q004jP
• Become a supporter on Buy Me A Coffee: https://bit.ly/3OhUkAX
Through any of these ways above, you will be supporting our ongoing commitment and publishing mission to (1) accelerate our content development work, (2) support the innovation of our technology, and (3) make more resources available for free to people in need. Do note that as we are a publishing house with a focus to advance the Gospel through resources, we do not accept tithes, offerings, and donations. About this episode You are watching the sermon, The Spirit-Active Life—How To Make Spirit-Led Decisions, preached on Aug 5, 2018 by Joseph Prince. This episode was made free on YouTube because of the support of our gospel partners. Thank you for partnering with us! Chapters 0:00 In Today’s Gospel Partner Episode… 0:36 Welcome Message By Joseph Prince 1:10 01 Introduction: The 2 ways God leads us 13:08 02 The value of godly counsel 25:55 03 Being Spirit-led = being supply conscious 37:23 04 The Holy Spirit will teach you ALL things 42:32 05 What to do before you make a decision 52:03 06 Don’t be afraid to take the first step! 1:02:55 07 The Lord will lead you step by step 1:10:29 08 Follow after peace and love 1:18:24 09 Salvation prayer & prayer of blessing New here? Here’s a gift of 7 free sermons to grow in the gospel when you sign up for updates: https://bit.ly/45da52p
If you are dealing with a health challenge, we are believing with you for your breakthrough, and we speak the Lord’s healing over you. As you stand in faith for your complete healing, be sure to practice both faith and wisdom. Be sure to consult a qualified medical practitioner or healthcare provider regarding your health status, and do not, on your own accord, disregard any professional medical advice or stop taking your medication. We are praying for you and look forward to hearing your praise report! Facing a health challenge? Purchase/request healing scriptures e-book and audio companion now for free: https://bit.ly/3IrYkeJ
Reign over every adversity, lack, and destructive habit. Purchase/request Destined To Reign 15th Anniversary e-book for free: https://bit.ly/3OiXF34
Subscribe and be the first to know when a Gospel Partner episode is released: https://www.youtube.com/c/JosephPrinc… You can also find us at: https://www.facebook.com/JosephPrince
https://twitter.com/JosephPrince
https://instagram.com/JosephPrince
#gospelpartner #josephprince #2023sermon
God wants every believer
to be led by the Spirit!
Many of us want
the spoken word.
“How come God doesn’t
speak to me?”
“How come…”
No, when you
open the Book,
God will speak to you
from the Word.
You will hear the word
that says:
“This is the way, walk you in it.”
The first thing you do:
Ask God for wisdom
and start doing
the next thing.
This is where the Holy Spirit
starts leading you.
When you do something
and you don’t have peace,
don’t do it
because the Holy Spirit teaches
on the wavelength of peace.
You can be busy outside
but you are restful inside.
That’s what God wants for you.
You are a child of God.
You know His voice!
“My sheep hear My voice.”
He didn’t say:
“My sheep learn to
hear My voice.”
Hi, this is Joseph Prince.
Thanks for tuning in. I just
wanted to know that you are able
to watch this sermon for free
today because of the support of
our Gospel Partners. So to all
our partners, thank you for
making a difference. As you
watch this video, feel free to
navigate to different points
using our chapter headings.
Please also leave a comment to
share what you have received and
how you’ve been touched by
today’s sermon. Be blessed as
you feed on God’s Word today!
I wanna address an issue that’s
been on my heart for some time,
and I believe that the time has
come. And we had a great
leader’s meeting just a few days
ago, where all the leaders came
and we had a special time of Q&A
with Pastor Prince, Amen. So
they can ask anything they want
to ask, Amen, except for that
million-dollar question, “Does
Adam have a belly-button,” ok?
So they ask me all sorts of
questions and we, we had a great
time, really. I enjoy answering
the questions. Before I know it,
the night was over, ok. So we
might have Part Two. And also,
in one of the questions that was
asked, I realised, in fact I was
smiling at Gideon, who was on my
right, Pastor Gideon. And,
because we’ve been discussing
this among the leaders, you
know. One of the things about
people who receive grace is that
sometimes they go…you know, they
receive grace but they
misunderstand the idea of works,
or being diligent, or being
hardworking, Amen. God expects
us to be diligent. The Bible
says time and time again, “The
hand of the diligent maketh
rich,” Amen? The Bible says that
Joseph was a diligent man. The
Bible says that, as employees we
should serve our masters,
our…and the context there in Old
King James, they say
“employers,” we’ll say
“employers” today, alright. And,
you know, the Bible says, “With
eyes,” not with eye-service,
just for them when they’re
looking at you, to impress them,
but with, “singleness of heart
to the Lord.” The context there
is in terms of employee and
employers. Back in those days,
there were servants, and there
were masters. And whatever you
do, do it heartily as to the
Lord and not to Man. So whatever
you do at your workplace, do it
as to the Lord, Amen? You’re
sending emails, you know, even
though it’s the mundane, daily
task, the daily grind of work,
do it as unto the Lord. Say,
“For You, Jesus,” Amen? Amen.
Say under your breath, “For You,
Jesus.” When you do something
that is…a menial task, even,
you feel like, “Why am I doing
this, why am I in this job?” say
it, “Lord Jesus, from now on,
I’m going to have this attitude;
it’s to You.” Knowing…say this,
“knowing,” you gotta know this
for verse 23 to happen, you
gotta know this. “Knowing that
from the Lord,” not from your
boss, and sometimes your boss
don’t even notice what you’re
doing. And sometimes your boss
reward the wrong person, Amen?
So, knowing that from the Lord
you will receive the reward of
the inheritance. You see,
“Knowing that from the Lord,”
not from your boss, “you will
receive the reward of the
inheritance, for you serve the
Lord, Christ.” “You serve the
Lord, Christ.” We’re talking
about reward here, Amen. God
will bless you, God will reward
you, alright; it will not pass
unnoticed by our Lord, Amen. But
many a times, we don’t have this
idea, we forget that God teaches
us to profit. In fact in Isaiah
48, it says here, “Thus says the
Lord, your Redeemer,” now,
talking to believers, right?
“Your Redeemer.” “I am the Holy
One of Israel, I am the Lord,
your God, who teaches you to
profit; who leads you by the way
you should go.” Remember this,
God, when God teaches you, He
always teaches you to profit.
The Bible was written for your
success, it was not written for
His success. Because He is very
successful already. So He wrote
the Book of Wisdom, in this year
of hesed-wisdom, Amen, I hope
that you are spending time in
the Book of Proverbs, asking God
for wisdom every day. So
whatever you are faced with, God
has a wisdom for you; in His
word, by His Spirit. And these
are the two main ways, through
His word as well as by His
Spirit; leading you, guiding you
every day. But remember this;
whatever He teaches you, whether
from His Word, or when you’re
hearing the preaching…and the
preaching is from His Word,
because I’m preaching the
Word…nothing but the Word can
help people, Amen. Nothing but
the Word can profit you. Nothing
but the Word can prosper you,
the Bible says. God told Joshua,
who has a big pair of shoes to
fill-in after Moses died, “This
Book of the Law shall not depart
from your mouth, but you shall
meditate on it day and night.
And you shall make your way
prosperous,” Amen, “And then you
shall have good success.” Good
success means you don’t lose
your family in the in…along the
way. You don’t lose your health
along the way, Amen. Good
success, “You shall make your
way prosperous.” Meditate on
God’s Word. And by the way,
have…did you realise that, He
didn’t just say, “I hear God, I
hear God, I don’t read the
Bible, I hear God for myself, I
hear God.” No. In fact, when God
spoke to Joshua, he was probably
thinking, “Aw, this big pair of
shoes I have to fill, I mean, I
don’t feel I have the capacity;
I don’t feel like I’m really at
the level of Moses, you know,
I’m so full of fears,” or
whatever. And, you got this
three million people to lead in
the wilderness, into the
Promised Land. But what was he
doing? He was reading his Bible,
or his scroll, in that time,
alright, they had the scroll.
And for God to say, “This Book
of the Law shall not depart from
your mouth,” that means he was
reading it, for God to say,
“This book.” God didn’t say,
“That book that you’re not
reading, on the shelf.” God
says, “This book,” that means he
was reading it. And while you
are reading God’s written Word,
he heard God’s spoken Word. Oh,
that was good, that was good.
You came in all the way here
just to hear that; it’s good.
Notice God was talking to him,
God says, “This Book of the Law
shall not depart from your
mouth,” why? It was an open book
for him, opened scroll, he was
reading the Word, the written
Word; and then, God gave, God
gave him the spoken Word. Many
of us want the spoken Word. “How
come God doesn’t speak to me,
how come…” No, when you open the
book, get cracking, open the
book, Amen, listen to the Word,
God will speak to you. And even
if you’re listening to a
preaching…a preached sermon,
Amen, if it’s full of the Word,
God will speak to you from the
Word. You will hear that Word
that says, “This is the way,
walk you in it.” So,
what…however God teaches you,
alright, through His Word or by
His Spirit…and these are the two
main ways…it is always to teach
you to profit. Say “profit,” say
“profit.” Everyone wants profit;
you work in a company, they hire
you because they think that you
will help them to profit, Amen.
Executives sit down together and
discuss, and they have their
fortnight meetings or whatever,
you know…why? To discuss what?
How to lose? No. How to make
profits. So God says, “I am the
Lord, your God, who teaches you
to profit.” But when God teaches
you to profit, you profit in
every area. You profit in your
family life, in your social
life, in your health, in every
area; can I have a good Amen? So
that’s the first thing you need
to know, God, when God teaches
you, He teaches you to profit.
It is for your own good. Can I
have a good Amen? And that’s
why, sin is always, always
something that destroys profit.
When you are on drugs, alright,
and that, that is sinful because
you are destroying the temple
that God has given you. You only
have one temple, you know,
people. You only have one house
you live in, you know. Take good
care of it! There is no such
thing as…once you check out, you
check out, you know? Once you
leave this house; it’s not like
Singaporeans, you know, “I can
buy another property,” you know?
There is no other property. So
take care of this property you
are in. Don’t let it run down,
Amen? Don’t put things in it
that’s not good for you, Amen?
Don’t be smoking and all that,
and keep on saying that, “I can
stop anytime I want to.” No. You
need the Lord’s grace, Amen. You
need to know there’s a problem.
Don’t keep on pumping yourself
full of drugs, Amen, whether
it’s…even if it’s prescribed
drugs and all that. By the way,
a disclaimer here; unless the
doctor tells you, “You must be
on this; be very careful, don’t
get off this because there’s
going to be a rebound effect,”
or whatever; consult your
doctor. But what I’m saying is
that there are things that you
are choosing to take; even
Panadol, almost every pain only,
Panadol. Why not you just fight
it? Amen. Fight the headache for
a while, Amen. Ask God to touch
you and then believe God;
because if you always refer
to…all these things, you know,
it comes with a disclaimer also,
right? They also have these
side-effects. Whatever God
creates has no side-effect. When
man makes drink…a lot of
side-effects. And when…God’s
water, no one improve on it. No
one can improve on water, Amen?
Drink lots of water, praise God.
Ok, so God teaches you to profit
in every area. How does He do
it? Through His Word and by His
Spirit. Ok, this comes to the
question, “Pastor Prince, I
believe in rest, you know; we
all thank God for the teaching
you taught us on rest, and rest
is power.” Say, “Rest is power!”
And that is true, Amen. In the
Outer Court…in the Tabernacle of
Moses, Outer Court is busy busy
busy. People will bring in their
sheep; the priest were killing,
slaying them, flaying their
skin; putting everything in
order on the bronze altar. And
then the fire goes up, and then
the smoke goes up; and the
people will go away forgiven
because they transferred their
sins to the lamb. So, busy, busy
all day long; people were
coming, you know, there was
slaying and laying the animal on
the altar; all kinds of
activities outside. But when you
come in the…into the Holy of
Holies; perfect calm, no
activity. So likewise, you can
be busy outside; but you are
restful inside. That’s what God
wants for you. I’ve not
teach…I’ve never taught that,
you know, do nothing. Sit down
and say, “I’m relaxed, brother;
relax,” you know, and do
nothing. The Bible actually
says, and the Apostle of grace,
Paul said, “If any would not
work, neither should he eat.”
Aw, you all didn’t hear that, so
I’m going to say it one more
time, on this level. “If any
would not work, neither should
he eat.” In fact, the Bible says
to…in the same passage, “He’s
worse than an infidel who
doesn’t provide for his family,”
Amen. So get this idea…” You
know, Pastor Prince, I’m just
relaxed; I’m entering into His
rest.” No. I’ve said time and
again, and this is a definition;
if you hear this definition,
remember where it came from. I
shared this many, many years
ago; what the Lord said to me,
“Rest is directed activity.”
Rest is not inactivity; rest is
directed activity, Amen.
Sometimes, when you sit down,
you feel frustrated. That is the
Lord telling you, “Get up, and
start doing something,” Amen.
Amen? Start looking for a job or
whatever. So if you are…and
sometimes, for example, your
child is getting by with murder,
you know, doing all kinds of
things, being rude to the mum,
and not because he is tired.
He’s just rude, and he’s saying
things he shouldn’t be saying,
and learning things that, you
know, from school or whatever.
And you realise that…” Oh never
mind, I’m going to show him
grace.” Well, something inside
you tells you, “No, no, you
better do something.” And
you…the more you don’t do
discipline, ok, you don’t
discipline him, the more
frustrated you become. So
notice, you are…you think you
are resting, but the Spirit of
God is saying, “No.” So when you
act on it, there’s rest. There’s
rest in your spirit, there’s
rest in your wife’s spirit. Even
though you don’t like it
outwardly, but there’s rest. And
finally, the Bible says in
Proverbs, “Correct your son, and
he will give you rest.” Now
there’s rest for everybody, and
there’s even rest for him. He’s
crying for discipline. Because
in the child’s mind, you know,
in their emotional make-up, they
feel like when you discipline
them…not torture them. So don’t
go around here and, saying that,
“…abuse and all…Pastor Prince
is teaching.” You can say what
you want to say, alright. “Say
what you want, say what they
want.” We rejoice with the Lord,
Amen? But, I’m teaching about
discipline. Children know when
they are disciplined; they
really feel loved. So you’re
giving him rest. Can I have a
good Amen? So, number one
principle is always to remember
God teaches us to profit. And
how does He do it? He guides us,
He teaches us. And teaching is
not always pleasant, you know,
Christians are so…especially
Charismatic Christians…you know
they are so flaky sometimes. Not
all of them, thank God. Not many
in this church, hopefully. But
they get flaky, you know, they
come and say, “Well, God is
telling me to come to this
church.” I always get worried
about people like that. “So do
you enjoy the sermon, do you
enjoy…do you feel at home here?
Do you…in your spirit, do you
feel like God is speaking to you
in this church?” Instead of
saying that…all those things,
they say that, “God told me to
come here.” “Do you enjoy Pastor
Prince’s sermon?” “Eh, no. Not
exactly, in fact I have my own
views about it.” “Then eh,
why…why are you here?” “God told
me to come.” I guarantee you,
God will also tell him to go,
one day. Amen? And you know when
God will tell him to go? When
he’s being taught, and when he’s
being disciplined. Or when he’s
being corrected, he will go. And
all of a sudden, he’ll tell
somebody else, “God told me to
leave lah,” alright. God’s name
gets abused. Amen? Why don’t you
be…just man-up and say, “I
decide to leave.” Amen? God
doesn’t…you know, how do you
know a church is for you? When
you’re in the church, there’s
life. And you find that God is
ministering to you. You find
there’s answers, you find that,
you know, you are stronger when
you leave. You feel fed, Amen,
there’s feeding going on, Amen.
You are being fed. “Even Pastor
Prince’s rabbit trails sometimes
speaks to me, you know. And I
feel like he’s talking to me.”
So that is…that means I’m your
pastor, Amen? If not, there’s
another church for you. And
there are many good churches in
Singapore, Amen? I’m very
concerned about…you know, I
shared with the leadership the
other day that there is a story
in the Bible where there was a
group of people that came to
David when David was in the
wilderness with his mighty men,
Amen. He wasn’t king yet, he was
in the wilderness. And this man
came, and one of them called
Abishai. And Abishai says, “We
are yours, we are for you,
David.” And David said this,
“Are you for me or are you for
my enemies?” Now, David should
have said, “Are you for the
Lord?” So David wasn’t
spiritual, was he? No, he was
smart. He says…he didn’t ask,
“Are you for the Lord?” They
would say, “Yes, I am for the
Lord.” But, no, a good leader
says, “Are you for me?” Sounds
like, you know, you are
self-seeking; but it is not,
it’s wisdom in leadership. “Are
you for me?” And the Bible says
the answer is that, the spirit
came on this man to answer
David. Why should the spirit
come on him to answer this? And
this was his answer. He said,
“We are yours, David, we are
yours.” And they became part of
the mighty men. Amen? Because
you know why, God uses people.
You say, “I’m for the Lord,”
Amen, then you know what? You
can do whatever you want to do;
there is no accountability,
there is no responsibility,
there’s no one to answer to,
Amen. But in the church
environment, when there is
trouble, before you think of
going for divorce; you consult
another couple, you consult the
pastors; you consult your
counsellors, you consult your
care-leaders, Amen? You talk to
them, why? Because God uses
people! And many a time we want
God to speak to us, direct; and
sometimes God wants to humble
you, and God wants you to learn
humility, God wants you to learn
teachable-ness. In fact, right
in 1 Kings 3, right after
Solomon asked God for wisdom;
the very next chapter, alright,
it’s chapter 4, because 4 comes
after 3. You know what I found
in chapter 4? Nothing but an
account of his ministers, in his
government. And one of them is a
man…the Bible says “his friend,”
the king’s friend. He even put
priority on friendship, Amen.
And…but more than one of them
are recorders, Amen. They are
people who are…one of them is
literally in the Hebrew,
“remembrancer,” to remind the
king. There are people who take
down whatever happened, and then
they remind the king. And years
ago, when I ask the Lord,
Solomon just received wisdom.
He’s the wisest man right now
that ever was in that whole…in
the…on planet Earth at that
time. Of course Jesus is greater
than Solomon, right, but at that
time he’s the wisest man, right?
But the very next thing he did
was to surround himself with
wise men. Because the Bible
says, and he wrote this, in
Proverbs, “He that walketh with
wise men shall be wise.” And not
only that, he put himself in a
position where they remind him.
They…you see, the wiser you are,
you don’t take things for
granted. You surround yourself
with people who remind you,
people that can speak into your
life. So the first person is
actually the priest, he has a
pastor…the very first name that
leads the entire administration
is the pastor; he puts spiritual
things first, the priest. He has
the priest, he can consult; even
though you can call him like a
CEO. But this guy, he’s worth
trillions today, factoring
inflation and all that. He’s a
trillionaire, Amen. And yet he
runs a successful business by
having a pastor that he can
consult. Now, don’t ask me to
consult you; it’s not possible,
Amen. But, you know, my
leadership trickles down into
all my leaders, into all the
care-leaders, and never, never
make a major decision without
consulting them. “He that
walketh with wise men shall be
wise,” Amen? “Well, Pastor
Prince, I don’t believe in this
submission thing and all that;
and I believe that God spoke to
me…I’m going my way.” Well,
that’s what happened when you
don’t understand what Jesus did.
At 12 years old, the Bible says,
he was in the temple listening
to all the…you know, it’s
amazing, the Bible says, “See
the beauty of the Lord, the
moral glory of Jesus. See the
beauty of our Lord Jesus that
even at the age of 12; he wasn’t
preaching, like the Sermon on
the Mount. He was…He was asking
questions; hearing them and
asking questions, from all the
rabbis that were there. And look
at the response. The Bible says,
“And they, The Rabbis were
amazed at His ans, at His
answers. His understanding and
answers. Which means, He was
asking them questions, and then
they threw back the question at
Him, “What do you think?”. When
He answered, they were amazed at
His understanding and answers.
What an amazing spirit. At the
age of 12, it wasn’t proper for
Him to teach. It wasn’t in place
for Him to preach to the adults.
But what a beauty. In the right
season. His position was
enquiring, asking and only
answering when asked. And He was
the wisest man, wisest boy, you
would say at that time. Amen?
Come on. And the wisest one,
next, the very next verse, the
Bible says, the parents came and
say, “We are looking for you and
all that,” the mother says. And
the Bible says, “He went back
with them”. And He was, He did
say, “Did you, did you not know
I must be about My Father’s
business?” When actually they
looked for all over the place in
Jerusalem, didn’t they know?
They should have known He was in
the temple. Amen? So, His first
recorded word is “Did you not
know I must be about My Father’s
business?” in terms of ministry.
His last words, in term of
closing the ministry of, on
earth was “It is finished.
Father into Your Hands I commit
My spirit.” What was finished?
The Father’s business that He
came to do – to die for our sins
as a Redeemer. Amen? Isn’t it
beautiful? But the Bible says He
went back with them, He was
subject unto them. Say
“subject”. Now, the Bible says,
the very next verse, the very
next verse says “and Jesus
increased in wisdom and in
stature and in favour with God
and man.” Luke Chapter 2. I
think it’s 24. Alright, Jesus
increased in wisdom and stature
and in favour with God and with
man. He increased in wisdom. As
God in the flesh, He didn’t have
to increase in wisdom. But as
man, and He was fully man as
well, He had to increase in
wisdom. Because, you know, as a
child, He’s learning. But notice
He increased in wisdom? Not only
in wisdom and stature but in
favour with God and man. He
increased in favour. That tells
me that whenever you submit,
favour is released. Amen. So it
doesn’t mean that I only submit
to people who are smarter than
me, I submit to people, so the
Bible says like women, alright,
wives, sorry, not women, wives,
not all women have husbands. So,
wives, submit to your husband.
It’s not uh, today, wow! Man,
the world has become politically
correct, ok? But no one talk
about inequality. No one is
saying that women are inferior.
No, no way! In fact God, God,
God always address the woman
first in the Bible. Amen. In
Ephesians, in Colossians, God
talks to the women first. I
asked, I noticed that Christ,
man is the head, Christ is the
head of the man and man, man is
the head of the household, the
Bible says that, the
responsibility lies with him,
when Adam fell, all creation
fell. Are you listening, people?
And yet, when God address
marital relation, God addressed
the woman first. Whether it is
in Ephesians, whether it is in
Colossians, whether it’s Peter
writing in his 1st Peter, it’s
always addressing the women
first. Why? I asked God this
many years ago and God said to
me “because women are smart”.
And God says, “I can get, I can,
they can understand Me first.
They can understand Me first.”
Why do you think, even the devil
knew that and approached the
woman because A-dam was ah-dumb.
Alright, so, you know, it
doesn’t really matter,
sometimes, uh, uh, you know, who
is the CEO of the company.
There’s always an influencer
around him. Talk to the
influencer. Amen? Women, man is
the head but you are the neck.
You can turn him any way you
want. Amen. But don’t tell him.
Amen? Don’t tell him. So it’s
not a matter of inferiority but
we have different functions.
Amen. I said we have different
functions. Don’t try to make
your eye run, uh, or, or jog,
jog every day. That’s your foot.
Amen? Don’t try to smell with
your ear. Wah, this curry is,
sniff, wah, this chicken curry
is or this, you know, you don’t,
you gotta know your place and
your function. Can I have a good
“Amen”? Find your place.
Hallelujah. And all of us are
unique but we are all equal in
the eyes of God. We are all
righteous in the eyes of God.
Amen? Because we are the
righteousness of God in Christ.
So, there’s no inferiority but
there are difference in
functions. Amen. The President
of the United States has a
different function. But as a
person, he’s not more equal,
Amen? Hehe, so we’re all the
same but different functions. I
know it’s very popular, very,
very popular now to, to talk
about, you know, women can do
this, women can do that and all
that, only in the movies. We
still need to protect them.
There are a lot of physical
things that we, I know, I know,
I know, I, I know, I know, I
know there are some of you, you
work hard at gym. I know, I
know, I know. Don’t write to me,
but as a whole, God wants us to
protect you. God wants us to
open the door for you as if you
can’t open the door yourself.
God wants us to, to help you,
help you up the stairs and all
that, don’t lose that. Enjoy
that. Amen? God wants guys to
stand up and give the lady the
seat in the MRT, you know, or in
the bus, I mean, don’t lose
that. And, when you stand up,
the, the lady gonna, “Wah, you
think I cannot ah? I cannot
stand ah? You think what?” You
know, don’t do that. Enjoy it.
Amen? You know, there are, there
are things that you keep in, in,
in your special cabinet like
special porcelains, special uh,
dish, you know, that you don’t
uh, you don’t use every day.
Why? Because they are precious.
And when, women are supposed to
be treated as precious. Amen.
Now, in fact, if anything, those
are more uheh, they are more,
more to be treated with respect
and uh, uh, they are more, if I
can say it in the words of
someone, they are more equal.
Animals’ Farm, ok? Heh. They are
more equal than, than, than the
plates we use every day, right?
They are better off, right? And
that’s what women is like. But
there’s no inequality.
Difference in function. The CEO
of a company is the CEO of a
company. He’s not a better
person. Amen? He has talents and
gifts that’s better for the role
that he’s in. Are you all
learning so far? So what makes
it the law, Pastor, if I do this
and it becomes a law. I’m scared
to be under the law. Rightly so
because we are not under the law
but we are under grace. And
Romans 6:14 says, “For sins
shall not have dominion over you
because you are not under law
but you are under grace.” And we
have defined grace as God
giving. Law is man working.
Right? Another way of saying
this, grace supplies. Supply.
Grace and supply is synonymous.
Amen. Grace is God supplying.
Law is God demanding. Ok? Got
it? Does that help? So whenever
I am functioning, I’m still
working but if I am functioning
and I think that God is
demanding it of me and I am
doing it by my own effort, that
is someone under law. But if I
am doing the same thing, you
see, I am still doing. Hello, I
am still doing. But when I am
doing it, knowing that God is
supplying me the wisdom, God is
supplying me the charisma, God
is supplying me the illustration
whatever, in my, in my case is
preaching, Amen? God is
supplying me, then it becomes a
rest. But many a times I am
sweating outwardly, you know, I,
I, I’m perspiring, I’m, you
know, uh, uh, I, I’m really, you
all know right, guys perspire,
horses sweat, women sparkle. Ok.
Sparkle like diamonds. Ok. we
all sweat. Receive it brother.
And, and, when, whenever you do
anything, you feel like, you
know, I, I gotta, I got so many
things to do, today, I got so
many things to do, I got so many
things, effectively you are
under law. But if you say, wow,
I got so many needs. Today I’m
going to get extra supply.
Greater supply from God. I’m,
I’m gonna see how He supplies.
I’m gonna be expecting it. That
is under grace. Can I have a
good “Amen” people? So, there is
a place for rewards in the, in
the kingdom of God. Amen. Uh,
before I, I, I come to the
rewards part again, I just want
to share this, that in the
church of Jesus Christ, we all
have different giftings. Can I
have a good “Amen”? But God has
put leaders there because they
are called to be leaders. It’s a
gift. Leadership is a gift. It
doesn’t mean he’s superior, like
I said, he’s on the same
foundation, but there’s
something about, sometimes a
leader is there but someone more
intelligent is actually
underneath, under him. Like I’ve
said, women and men, God said to
me, He spoke to the women first,
He wrote to the women first
because women are intelligent.
They’ll get it first. Amen. So,
Jesus at the age of twelve
submitted to his parents and
increased in wisdom. Esther was
at a beauty contest to find the
next queen for the king of
Persia. There were many women, I
mean, they, Persia was a, the,
the largest kingdom at that
time. So, so the, the beauty
contest is not like our Miss
Universe and, you know, the
typical kind of, it’s a huge
contest. Probably go on for days
and yet, the Bible says, Esther
got it. Esther won it. The Bible
used those, these words “Esther
found favour in the sight of all
the people”. But read carefully
the preceding verses. It says
there was a man in charge of all
the women. The king put him in
charge. He’s probably a eunuch
and, the Bible says, his name
was Hegai and actually in Hebrew
it means “meditation”. Isn’t it
interesting? And Esther didn’t
want anything, all the women,
the Bible says, they can, they
can uh, bathe for, for six
months in myrrh if they want. In
fact, they were required to.
They can do, they can ask for
any clothes they want. Any kind
of makeup. They can, they can
ask for anything for the
contest. But Esther asked for
nothing but what Hegai, the
king’s keeper, the women’s, uh,
the, in charge of the women, he,
she only wanted what he
recommended. And most likely
than not, he knows exactly what
the king wants, right? Wisdom,
you know, she said that “I’ll
submit to you.” And you guess
what? She found favour.
Nonetheless, this uh, wisdom,
but God still give her favour
and she became the next queen.
You know, we, we think we know
it and then we are left high and
dry. Humility. Before humility,
sorry, before honour, the Bible
says, before honour, there’s
humility. Whenever you see
someone honoured, somewhere
along the way there’s humility.
He was willing to learn. He was
willing to be corrected. People
tell me things sometimes, so,
sometime I ask them, you want,
you want me to help you, guide
you, uh, uh, uh, uh, counsel you
or you’re just telling me? Uh,
there’s a difference, you know.
There are people who just tell
you.
Are you with me so far? But
Pastor Prince, I scared to do
anything because law mah, I, I,
I scared I come under law. “What
do you mean?” “I, I’m afraid
that I’ll be doing out of my
effort.” Look, it is you doing
it, doing it, not a zombie.
Alright? All of you are doing
it. When God tells you to do
something, you are doing it.
Listen, God doesn’t move by
himself. He has ordained it that
way. Listen, God, without us,
God can do anything, right? We
all know that. But His way is
that He will not want to do
anything without us. There’s a
verse that says uh, in 1st
Corinthians 2, we are
co-labourers with God.
Co-labourers with God. But what
can we do, what can we supply?
Now, we can’t supply the power,
we can’t supply the, the gifts,
we can’t supply the, the
anointing, we can’t supply the
success, we can’t supply the
circumstance to be created in
such a way that, that is
conducive for us but God can do
it. So what is our part? Our
part is to obey. Our part is to
co-labour with him. God moves
here, I move here. In fact,
Jesus used the analogy uh, “Come
take My yoke on y-, upon you.”
He was speaking to people who
are, who are farmers and people
working the, the lands, uh,
agricultural system and uh, uh,
people involved in husbandry.
And, he, he, he told them, “Take
My yoke on you. My yoke is easy,
my burden is light.” So they
understood, they understood
that. For them to train a, a
younger ox, they’ll hook the
yoke to the next older ox. Amen.
And the older ox is more
experienced but the younger ox
is not. But whenever the older
ox wants to move right and the
younger one wants to move left,
he better turn right because the
older ox is stronger or else
he’ll have a stiff neck. And
that’s why they use the word
“stiff neck” for people that are
rebellious. You know, it’s a
matter of flowing with God. When
God tells you to do something,
you do it. You flow with Him.
Can I have a good “Amen”. Amen?
When God moves right, you move
right. God moves left, you move
left. There are times God
doesn’t move. And you stop. When
God stop, you stop. But when God
moves, you move. Amen? When,
when, when the older ox wants to
drink from the, the, the, the
pool of water there, alright, he
wants to drink, “Well,” the
other one says, “Well, I, I just
drank just now, I don’t want to
drink too much.” Well, he better
drink. He’s leading you to
drink. There are times, you all
know this and, and you are
watching TV and there’s nothing
on TV, you just want to watch
and inside your heart there’s
something saying “Read Pastor
Prince’s devotional”.
You are
hungry for the Word, you know,
aaahh, then you see a devotional
down there, you know, uh, uh,
the one that you put down there
in your house in case people
come and see, Orh, ya, he’s
spiritual, you know, Pastor
Prince uh, devotionals are
there. You know, the one, and
you feel like opening up. Ahhh,
you know, it’s good to put all
these things near your
television because every time
there’s a, there’s a
advertisement and all that,
just, just read. Amen? Amen. Put
around your toilet also, your
toilet bowl, near that, near
that area, you know what I’m
saying? Amen? You receive a lot
when you’re relaxed. What little
you read sometimes is amazing
how God can speak to you. So
there are times God says “Open
it. Open it” and you don’t want
to read. “I’ll, I’ll do it
later.” But later when you open
it, the flow is no more there.
There is such a thing because
why? When He’s drinking, you
better drink. You’ll receive
such feeding. Amen. When He’s
not and you are trying to, it’s
such, there’s such a tediousness
to it. How many has experienced
this in your life? Now, you know
what is effectively not being
under law? The apostle Paul
wrote this, to Galatians, uh,
row, uh, Galatians 5 verse 18, I
think it is. If you are led by
the Spirit, you are not under
the law. So, don’t be afraid,
orh, this is law, that is law.
No. Are you led by the Spirit?
If you are doing something and
you are led by the Spirit, you
are not under the law. Hello? If
you are led by the Spirit, you
are not under the law. You see,
if I just teach you “been led by
the Spirit”, then you can forget
about accountability, you know,
uh, talking to people or uh, uh,
uh, listening to the counsel of
the wise and all that, I just
follow the Spirit. That’s why I
had to create all that
foundation first. It’s important
you understand that. But then,
at the end of the day, let me
just tell you this, God wants
every believer to be led by the
Spirit. Can I have a good
“Amen”? And even counsel, you
need to hear whether the counsel
confirm what you have in your
spirit. By the way, the counsel
will never tell you to go
against your God-appointed
leadership. It will never tell
you to go against your marriage
vows. It will never tell you to
go against your, what you know
in the Word of God is moral and,
and what is immoral. Amen? You
can go against what is immoral
but what is proper and what is
right, it’ll never tell you to
“Ya, it’s ok to commit adultery
in your case because your wife
is not responding as she
should”. Never! Don’t ever hear
that and think it’s the Holy
Spirit. Be a, be a man. You be a
man. You be a man. Amen? Man up
and say “I did it. I chose my
course”. Alright? Don’t, don’t
try to blame God. And don’t try
to get her to do Bible study
with you. That’s, that’s so
nauseating to me; to hear
people, you know, in adultery
doing Bible study. You are
deceived. Come near, come here,
come here. Pia! You know what
I’m saying or not? Sorry, sorry,
wow, brother. You want to do
that right, Lawrence? Amen. They
need the five-fold ministry, you
know what I’m saying? Man up!
And if that lady had, you know,
I mean, ok , I don’t want to go
in there. Ok, I don’t want to
mess with, not everyone is
smiling, so, how do you know you
are under law, you are not led
by the Spirit? But if you are
led by the Spirit, you are not
under law, which means you are
under grace. It’s not a matter
that we are dead to the law, now
we are free to do whatever we
want. No! We are dead to the law
to be married to Jesus Christ
and He’s going to lead us by His
spirit. Amen. How does the Lord
lead us? Well, on the, on the
Passover night, in the upper
room Jesus told his disciples,
“While I am present with you, I
am telling you these things.
When the Holy Spirit, the
Comforter, the Paraclet, the one
that come along side you to
help, now, He’s going to come
and He will to teach you all
things.” Show them that verse
uh, uh, drop down. Ok. He’s
gonna come, alright, and He will
teach you all things,” Verse
26“and bring to your remembrance
all things.” Say “all things”.
So whatever it is, I know some
people confine this to just the
Bible. No. “All things” means
“all things”. He will teach you
all things means all things.
Parenting, Amen, your, your,
your, your work, your, your
career, your social life, uh,
whatever it is, He’s gonna teach
you all things and then bring
all things to your remembrance
whatever Jesus has spoken to
you. You have heard what the
Lord said and then He’ll remind
you. See, the Holy Spirit is
also a reminder. A remembrancer.
Amen. And, it’s not here but it
says, in the upper room, Jesus
says, “He will glorify me.” The
Holy Spirit never glorifies man.
He always comes and glorify
Jesus. God teaches you to profit
so that you will glorify Jesus.
Amen. He wants your life, your
marriage, your children, your,
your, your entire person to be
one that radiates with the glory
of God. When God had His way,
nobody was sick. Only when man
sinned, sickness came in. When
God had His way in the garden,
nobody was poor. Poverty came
when man sinned. When God had
His way, there was no stress, no
need for psychiatrist. When God
had His way, everything is
perfect. Guess what? When you
follow God’s way, He will teach
you to profit. So I don’t care
whether people, prosperity
gospel and all that, just bring
them before, before Adam fell
and ask, ask the question “When
God had His way, when the world
was under God, what was it like?
Was there poverty? Was there,
was there hospitals, were there
hospitals?” No. Abundance.
Peace. And when Jesus says, “Thy
will be done on earth as it is
in heaven”. How is heaven like?
Are there any hospitals in
heaven? Are there any supreme
court in heaven? Is there, is
there any uh, by the way, the
court that’s in heaven is the
throne of grace for us. There is
a court in heaven, alright? But
I’m talking about, about places
to judge you. To send you to
hell. No. Only one. God’s
throne. And for that, all
believers are not, are not going
to be sent to the lake of fire.
Amen. All believers will never
stand before the Great White
Throne judgment. They will stand
before the Bema Seat of Christ
which is another message
altogether, which I have shared
another time. Now, so, listen,
listen. Everything is perfect.
We walk on streets of gold in
heaven. The music is harmonious.
Nobody is out of tune. Even you.
You have a new body. You’ll be
in tune. Smile at your neighbour
and say, “There’s hope for you,
brother. Because just now during
the worship, I’m telling you, I
was praying, I was praying, I
was praying. You, you noticed I
was singing louder? Alright. Uh,
you, now you know why. I’m
trying to drown your voice.” Heh
so, so, everyone we, we,
perfect. Even the mosquitoes
will start glorifying Jesus.
*sound of mosquitoes
singing*…nyamuk. You know
what’s “nyamuk” or not? That’s
Malay for “mosquito”. Alright,
it’ll all be like *mosquitoes
singing to the tune of Joyful,
Joyful, we adore Thee.* Broak.
Even the frog “broak” (croak).
The timing is perfect. Everyone
will be in harmony. The whole
creation fell because Adam fell.
So when Bible says “I teach you
to profit”, what do you think it
is? Teach you to s, to, to be
poor so that you learn to be
holy? Some people have this
religious concept, that’s not
the Bible. Look at when God has
His way. The mess in our life
is, is self-manufactured. We
didn’t listen to the prompting
and now we are suffering for it.
Even the food we eat, whatever
it is, you know, or the medicine
we take, we gotta make sure we
listen to the Lord. Amen. When
it come to medicine I told you
just now, the disclaimer. The
doctors tell you be, you have to
be on it, alright, you make sure
you’re on it. In fact, when you
listen to the Spirit, it’ll
always tell you you’re on this
level, work with that level and
trust that God will give you,
God, trust God to, to give the
doctor wisdom. Before you go to
a doctor, ask God to give him
wisdom. But he’s not a believer.
Never mind. There’s a, there’s
a, a, a natural wisdom that God
gives also to unbelievers. It’s
in the Bible. Amen. Are you with
me so far? That brings us to the
next thing. Whatever crisis you
are in, whatever trial you are
going through, whatever need
that is, that is pressing
against you right now and is
staring you in the face, what do
you do? Number 1: Ask God for
wisdom. James 1,“If any of you
lacks wisdom.” This is James 5,
verse 5 here, it’s actually
after verse, the passage before
this, and the passage before
this opens up, talking about
greetings and all that but then
it says about trials. So it’s in
context of trials. Don’t go to
the trial, don’t go through a
trial not asking God for wisdom.
Some people, you ask them, “Have
you asked God for wisdom?” “O
yah ah. Hmm… O yah, haven’t.”
You know why? Because you think
you can handle it. You think
that somebody will help, come
and help you or whatever, you,
you, you, you expect in the
natural things will turn around
that’s why you didn’t ask God
for wisdom. So in any trial you
are in, the first thing you do,
ask God for wisdom. If any of
you lack wisdom, let him ask of
God who gives to all liberally.
Look at the nature of your
Father. Your Heavenly Father. He
gives liberally. Say
“liberally”. Aiya, no power. Say
it loud. Liberally. Amen.
Liberally. Liberally and
upbraideth not; Or without
reproach, without reproach.
Upbraideth is Old King James.
…without reproach He doesn’t
scold you for asking wisdom. In
fact, He delights in you asking
for wisdom. When Solomon asked
for wisdom, the Bible says the
speech pleased the Lord and the
Lord is the same yesterday,
today and forever. So He will
not scold you. He will give to
you liberally. In fact, not many
people are asking for wisdom.
So, you know what? Take theirs
as well. The Throne of Grace is
not crowded so come and receive.
Let him ask in faith, When you
ask God, …ask in faith, with
no doubting, for he who doubts
is like a wave of the sea driven
with the wind and tossed. For
let not that man think that he
shall receive any thing of the
Lord. The only thing the Lord
wants, wants you to know,
alright, about Him is that He
will give to you liberally when
you ask for wisdom and He will
not scold you. So, please,
honour Him by asking in faith.
So after you asked God for
wisdom, say, “Father, give me
wisdom concerning this in Jesus
Name”, and then, only then, you
can rise up, Amen, you don’t
have the answers in your head,
but you have received wisdom.
Maybe it’s not imparted to your
understanding yet and then start
doing the next thing. This is
where the Holy Spirit starts
leading you. Alright? But after
you asked for wisdom, then you
can expect the Holy Spirit to
lead you and guide you. And
that’s why, go back to John
again and uh, John, John. John
14 says, “Peace I leave with
you.” Immediately right after
the Holy Spirit is mentioned,
Jesus mentioned the Holy Spirit
teaching you all things, He
mentioned “Peace I leave with
you”. There was a boy up here,
right, few Sundays ago, that,
that quoted this? John 14:27.
Yup. He memorised this verse, or
not in, not in your service, 2nd
service. My son came up and gave
his memory verse from “Peace I
leave with you. My Peace I give
unto you”. Now, why did Jesus
mention “Peace” immediately
right after He talked about the
Holy Spirit teaching you all
things? Because the Holy Spirit
teaches on the wavelength of
peace. So, when you do something
and you don’t have peace, don’t
do it. You’re about to embark on
a career change and the more you
talk to your wife, the more you
all discuss, of course, weigh
the pros and cons, you know,
consult your leaders, consult
uh, uh, your, your, your pastors
if you want, alright, just, just
talk about the, the pros and
cons and all that, don’t just
depend on yourself. Remember,
following the Spirit doesn’t
bypass all these things. He that
walketh with wise men shall be
wise. And then you sit down
there and then, who knows,
someone will tell you “hey,
that, that, ya, you know, it
looks very uh, uh, glorious and
nice, but don’t. Don’t. You
know, I, I, I know a close
friend who has been there, they
got burn and all that”. Haaah,
thank God. At least you, you
know, you consult people and you
find out from people that are
counselors. The Bible says “In
the multitude of counselors
there is safety”. Didn’t say “in
the multitude of friends”. They
must be counselors, people with
God’s counsel and wisdom and
there are many in this church.
Aiyoh, I got to say “Amen” to
all this. Amen, Pastor Prince!
Hallelujah! Hahaha. You all
don’t think that we’ve got
counselors here and wise people?
Many of them are sitting in
front. Amen. I know they are
wise. You know why? They look
like they are listening. So I
know they are wise. Yah, even
when they yawn, even when they
yawn, alright, you know how they
yawn or not? I know how he
yawns. He will yawn with his
mouth closed. Have you seen him
yawn with his mouth closed? It
goes like this. Alright, he will
look at me than …(deep breathe),
mouth closed. The nostrils
flare, the eyes water. There and
there I felt compassion for him.
You know, that, is a wise man,
alright. Amen. So anyway, there
are many in this church ok? But
many of them are your leaders.
We have spotted them, we have
tested them down through time
and before you sign a contract,
you know, if you sense there’s
no peace, then stop for a while,
discuss with your wife. If your
wife say “I don’t know why”.
“Don’t say don’t know why, don’t
know why. Give me a logical
reason.” “I don’t know why.”
Women are more intuitive that’s
why the woman was hanging around
the middle of the garden. Amen.
The man wasn’t. She was more
intuitive to the things of the
spirit that’s why she was the
first to hear the voice of the
evil spirit. Amen. The devil’s
voice. But women are more
inclined. But women can sense
things about people long before,
you know, uh, the man can find
out in, with their head. They
can say, “I don’t know about
this guy, I really do not know.”
The guy says,” “What kind is
this? Don’t judge people ok?”
But they can, “I don’t know why.
Don’t. There’s something about,
something scratchy.” Amen?
Consult your wife. You know,
I’ll, I’ll tell you this.
There’s a teaching out there
that says “when God gives you
peace, you know it’s God”. Now,
the thing is this; you should
always be at peace. I will teach
it this way. Whenever there’s no
peace, your peace is affected,
then listen. That’s the Lord
leading you, telling you.
Because many a times, you know,
you, you, you should be at
peace. Peace is your default
mode as a believer. “Peace I
leave with you”. You have peace.
Amen. So, how do you know when
you are out of it? The peace is
affected. In fact, there’s a
verse that says let that peace
act as umpire in the Amplified
Bible in Colossians, “Let the
peace of Christ act as umpire
continually.” In a tennis game,
the umpire says, “Out”, it’s
out. No point breaking racket,
scolding the umpire and all
that, it’s out. Nowadays they
have all the, you know, play
back video and all that to show
whether the ball is in or out.
But that’s what the umpire does.
The peace of Christ says, “Umm”,
out. “Mmm”, yeap. Amen? Are you
listening, people? You meet
someone, they offer you
something and something is
scratchy and sounds too good to
be true, alright, usually it’s
too good to be true. The only
thing that’s too good to be
true, sounds like too good to be
true but it’s really true,
because it’s really good, it’s
the gospel. So if you have this
scratchy feeling, listen to it
because those people don’t have
the Holy Spirit in them, you do
and He’s in you, and He will
lead you, Amen? Yes, with peace
but you’re in peace all the
time. Listen when your peace is
affected. When you do something
and your peace is affected,
don’t do it. There are times I
don’t even, I bought something
already right? I tasted it and I
feel a peace at the same time,
of course I go by my taste, God
gives me taste. So I taste and
then, taste is a 50-50, I don’t
know it’s an overnight food or
whatever but something inside me
says, “Don’t touch it.” I say,
“Wah, it’s five dollars you
know?” My Singaporean mentality
took over. “Wah, five dollars
you know?” The Lord says, “No,
don’t touch it.” There’re other
times I must tell you, alright,
I disobeyed that. Hungry, and
it’s five dollars and it’s the
only stall there, so I ate it. I
ate it but it never stayed in my
body. That whole day it was
trying to find its way out. You
all have been with me. Don’t
laugh, don’t eh eh eh. You all
have been doing the same thing
also. And something inside you,
ah never mind, never mind,
just… Another time I remember
I was in a hurry, Justin was
just born at that time and I
told Wendy I’ll take care of
Justin. Then after that we took
turns, we were outside. And then
I rushed to eat my food at a
hawker centre, I still remember.
And man, I choked on something.
That’s the only time I spent
time in hospital overnight
because I can’t remove it. They
had to put me on, you know,
anesthesia and remove the thing
from my throat. I remember
something inside me, “Don’t,
don’t rush. Don’t rush. Don’t
rush. It’s better not to eat
than to rush.” But I said, “No,
I’m hungry.” Hungry means must
eat. Toop. Try to remove it,
didn’t come out. So, God leads
us with the? Peace. Or the way
it’s done, practically it’s when
your peace is affected. Amen?
Romans 8, “The Spirit Himself
bears witness with our spirit
that we are the sons.” Drop down
to verse, yeap, verse 16, “The
Spirit Himself bears witness
with our spirit that we are
children of God.” This is how
verse 14 happens, “For as many
as are led by the Spirit of God,
these are sons of God.” Huios.
These are mature sons of God.
Huios. When you’re led by the
Spirit, you’re the kind of son
that really pleases Him. You are
led by the Spirit. And then it
says, “You did not receive the
spirit of bondage again to
fear”, the context here is very
important. In the Old Testament,
they had a spirit of fearing God
in the wrong way. That’s the
context here, the spirit of
bondage again to fear. That’s
why “again” is there, because
the Old Testament saints had
this fear of God. But this
spirit that we receive is the
spirit of sonship. Forget the
word ‘adoption’ ok, it’s
actually the word ‘huiothesia’
which is sonship from huios. We
have received the spirit of
sonship by which we cry ‘Abba,
Father’. You know, our Father is
with us. Amen? Our heavenly
Father is here now, Amen. He
gave us some gifts just now,
Amen? He’s speaking to us now,
He loves us. So we have a spirit
that respond, when we say,
“Father”, it’s not like God is
so far away in the universe
somewhere, in the north side of
Zion, I mean somewhere faraway.
No, when you say ‘Father’, it’s
family. That’s why ‘Father’ is
higher than the names that we
learn in the Old Testament.
Wonderful as they are, glorious
as they are, Amen, reverential
as they are, ‘Father’ is higher
than any other name in the Old
Testament. Say ‘Father’. And
feel loved. Feel the love of
God. You’re a son. That’s how
you’re led. You must have the
spirit of sonship because if
not, you are thinking that
you’re led by the Spirit but
it’s not the Spirit. That’s why,
you know, I remember last time,
you know, in care groups or cell
group and all that, there was a
lady, I remember being in a
Christian bookstore, and I
wasn’t known yet, I wasn’t a
pastor then, I remember they had
a lot of cell groups and all
that in churches and all that.
So I remember someone saying,
“You know, this lady in my cell
group, I’m telling you, you
know, so terrible. Her hair is
like so long, and her makeup
blah, blah, blah, blah.” And I
was sitting down there reading a
book and I’m thinking to myself,
and all that came up in my
spirit is this: jealous,
jealous, jealous, jealous, you
know. It’s so obvious. I was a
young Christian, a young man as
well at that time. Still, I was
picking up that spirit of
jealousy. She said, “I don’t
know why, when she come in, the
Spirit tell me er that no, she’s
doing something wrong. The
Spirit tell me.” Wah, very
spiritual. Those who are the
least spiritual use God’s name
the most. Just remember that.
Even when God speaks to me, many
a times I don’t even tell my
pastors what God said to me
because it doesn’t open up for
discussion. I wanna hear their
views. At the end, when it all
comes to the same conclusion, I
know, yes, confirmed, it’s God.
But they need to follow that
journey. If I come and say, “Hey
guys, God told me that.” “Wah,
God already tell you what. What
is there to say?” So I don’t do
that. I know what God said. And
many a time, I know what God has
said to me, but I need them to
follow me in this journey, I
need them to bear witness. Ok,
talking about bear witness, now
here it says, “The Spirit
Himself bears witness with our
spirit that we’re children of
God.” Now what’s bearing
witness? If someone is in a
court situation, right, you are
summoned as a witness, what does
that mean? That means you are
there to witness to an action
already taken. Usually it’s
criminal action. You’re a
witness of a person’s character
or you’re a witness of
something. So in other words,
something has happened already.
The character is there already.
The criminal act has been done,
has been executed. You are there
as a witness. What does that
mean? Means you just tell what
you see. You just witness to
what you see, right? The thing
about ‘the Spirit Himself bears
witness with our spirit that
we’re children of God’, the most
important area is to know you’re
a child of God. I remember years
ago in my previous church when I
started speaking in tongues, I
was baptised in the Holy Spirit
speaking in tongues and all
that, my deacon brought me to be
prayed for by a well known
minister and he specialised in
deliverance. He command my
tongue to stop in Jesus’ name.
He command the demon inside me
to name itself, it didn’t name.
I just know my name is Joe, you
know. And the demon cannot be
called Joe. Anyway, then he
summoned all kinds, then he
says, “Pray in tongues, pray in
tongues.” I pray in tongues. And
then he summoned Michael to come
down and asked Michael to bind
this. He did all kinds of
things. Finally, he was tired, I
was tired, everyone was tired.
So he said, “Let’s take a
break.” He told me it’s a
stubborn demon. All because I
spoke in tongues. So he went one
corner, I remember as a young
boy, you know, boy of 14 or 13
at that time, just ‘blur’ you
know, don’t know what happen. I
want to do what’s right, but I
got baptised in the Holy Spirit.
And then one of his leaders came
beside me, look around, make
sure his pastor not around, he
say, “Hey, just now during your,
what you pray in tongues is it?
Did you hear the word you say?
‘Shekinah, shekinah, shekinah’.
‘Shekinah’ means ‘glory’ you
know?” I didn’t know that. He’s
the first person that ever told
me that ‘shekinah’ is ‘glory’.
Then he ran off. He was one of
the pastor’s assistants, one of
the pastors, associate pastors.
Maybe a secret tongue-talker.
Hallelujah. No, the witness is
always to tell you you’re a
child of God. But all the while
when he told me, at the end
what’s the conclusion? “You’re
not,” he says, “you’re not even
saved.” He told me I’m not even
saved. Then I, I don’t know but
that’s one part where even
ignorant as I was at that time
something inside me rose and
say, “No, I’m saved.” The next
day I told my deacon in my
church. “There’s one thing I
don’t agree with, you know,” I
said, “I know I’m saved.” He
told me, “Don’t worry about
that, you are. Ignore that.” He
said. There’s a witness in all
of us. Even though our minds
struggle with some passages in
Scripture or you know that kind
of thing, we hear preaching that
says you can lose your
salvation, something inside you
says, “No.” If you listen to
that, you’ll say, “No.” So in
the first area, it tells you,
bears witness with you you’re a
child of God. What about other
things in life? Yes, He’ll bear
witness with you. But bearing
witness is this, a lot of people
don’t understand. Bearing
witness means you take the
action, you study. Students,
means you study, as you’re
studying then He can lead you.
Nah, He doesn’t bear witness
with this passage, alright, this
is not the topic that He wants
you to focus on. Then He can
tell you, “Study this topic, you
don’t have much time, alright,
these are the…” He can lead you
then. But you don’t open the
book, “Lord, speak to me, Lord.
Speak to me, Lord. Speak to me,
Lord, Lord, speak to me. Which
book, which topic Lord, what are
the questions that will come
out?” Or you sit down and say,
“Lord, Lord, I’m not going to
date, go, you know, to church,
I’m not going to… Lord, you
just bring the man to me. I just
think that if Michael is the
one, You’ll bring Michael in
front of me.” It’s not God’s
way. God’s way is that you go to
church, if you’re single, you go
to that, you know, join care
group, mix around, get involved
in the church, Amen? Of course,
church is not the only place you
can find your life partner, but
very safe. A lot of the heroines
of the Bible, they all found
their mate at the water, at the
well. Lesson. Anyway, safe. But
it’s possible you can find
somewhere, of course, God is
sovereign. Amen? But you cannot
sit at home and do nothing,
expect doomp!, “Yo, my name is
Albert.” Well. It doesn’t work
that way, doesn’t work that way,
ok? Are you listening? Amen? You
don’t just sit down there and
say, “What job you want me to
do, Lord, what job, what job,
what job?” You know? Or, “Give
me a job, Lord, give me a job,
give me a job.” Amen? You go
through, and then you bear
witness with a few, then go for
the interview. You gotta be
there, you gotta feel the
interviewer, you gotta feel the
environment, you gotta sense it.
And then you find something
shrink, something is not there,
then go for another one. You
know? And the first place I
work, look horrible, the place
look horrible, Amen. And there
was a smell from the restaurant
coming upstairs you know? They
were frying salted fish or
something like that. And
that’s…but that place, man, I
flourish in that place, my boss
become a believer, we brought
him to Christ. It was a place
that prospered me. God is the
One that prospered, but God used
that place. So you don’t go by
what you see, you sense the
environment, you sense it, you
sense even the interview with
the person, the words that are
spoken, you sense it. But you
sit down and do nothing, how can
He guide you? That’s why God
cannot guide a parked car. You
cannot tell a car that’s parked,
“Turn right. Turn left. Maintain
ah, steady ah.” It is there all
the time. And some Christians
think, “Ah this is the, this is
grace, this is rest.” No it’s
not. Rest is not inactivity. It
is Spirit-directed activity.
Amen? It’s not inactivity.
Sometimes when you’re inactive,
you feel blah, you feel
frustrated because Spirit of God
wants you to do something, “Get
up.” Amen? Another thing is
this, just because something is
hard doesn’t make it a law. “I
don’t want to go to the gym.”
Why? “Law. Legalistic.” Do you
brush your teeth every day? Do
you feel like brushing your
teeth every day? Do you bathe
every day? Sometimes, right,
it’s late, do you feel like
bathing every day? A lot of
people don’t say ‘Amen’. They
look at me like they don’t
bathe. Do you all bathe at all,
hey? In a week, ok, in a week,
ok? So there are times you’re
tired, you don’t, “Oh man, must
get up, you know, I just came
back.” I don’t feel like
bathing, right? Ok, I speak for
myself. I cannot go to bed
dirty. Have I been there before
where I slept before I know it?
Yes, but I still get up and
bathe. It’s just me. It’s just
me. And that’s why sometimes
Pastor Lawrence and I have
disagreements.
Unless you do
something, how can He bear
witness? Unless you’re moving,
you’re doing something, unless
you’re executing, how can He
bear witness? Only when you
execute, He says, “Yes.” He
bears witness with it. If
there’s no action, there’s
nothing to bear witness. God
told, you see how God does
things. I’m bringing this to a
close. How does God operate? God
uses people, I said. God says,
“I have provided Me a king among
his sons.” I love this. In 1
Samuel 16, the very first verse.
The thing about the environment
and the world that we’re living
in today, being a Christian
means persecution, you’re being
made fun of, being mocked. That
was how Israel was at that time,
they were mocked by the
Philistines. They were the
oppressors. There was no
champion. Their king was a
coward, he was under an evil
spirit of depression.
And then
God says to Samuel, “I have
provided Me a king among Jesse’s
sons.” I’m telling you,
regardless of what you see in
the world today, regardless of
how you see the churches,
sometimes not exactly united,
that’s how Israel was. Yet God
said, “I have provided Me.” God
has His people. God has every
need, alright, provided for long
before it was a need. So God has
provided a king among his sons
and this is the one that will
put an end to the Philistine’s
rule. Amen? I’ve provided Me a
king among whose sons? Jesse’s
sons. Now God didn’t even
mention his name. So prophet
Samuel had to go to Bethlehem,
the town of David where David
was, and he had to go to the
house of Jesse. All he knows is
Jesse’s name, doesn’t know which
son. He has seven sons. They’re
all men of war and David was in
the field as a shepherd boy, the
youngest. So the father says,
“Er, you want to see my boy?” He
says, “Yes.” So one by one they
pass by. The first one was tall,
dark and handsome. And God says
this is not the one. He never
told the father. Then the
prophet says, “Next.” The next
one came. Not the one. Not the
one. Note the one. Not the one.
Until the last one. Not the one.
Says that, “Are these all your
sons?” Then the father says,
“Ha, yeah, yeah, I remember, I
got one more son.” Imagine if
you are his son. Imagine. Have
you been there before where
you’re the last to be
remembered, last to be called on
in a, you know, in a football
game or whatever, you’re the
last to be chosen? David was the
last one. But when he came in,
ruddy, the Bible says, Amen?
Sweat pouring down, Amen,
probably smelled like sheep, God
says, “This is the one.” And he
anointed him. Now my question is
this. Have you noticed? Even a
prophet does not know who is it
until one by one they must pass
by. One by one. God doesn’t
bypass the process of going for
a job interview, getting to know
people, and then when they’re in
front of you then you can bear
witness. Amen? If you’re led of
the Spirit, you’re not under the
law. You know that there were
times that God says, “Don’t
preach.” But God says, “Go into
all the world and preach the
gospel”, right? But there were a
time, Paul wanted to go to Mysia
and Spirit of God ‘allowed him
not’, the Bible says. And the
next verse says ‘a vision came
to him at night. A Man in
Macedonia.’ So God didn’t allow
him to preach in Asia Minor, it
wasn’t time yet. By the way,
that’s present day Turkey. And
it wasn’t time yet. So God
wanted the gospel to go west to
the Grecians. And then a vision
happened. But, you know, some
people have this attitude: as
long the gospel is preached, I
don’t care. But maybe God
doesn’t want you to preach the
gospel at this time in that
place. He has another place for
you. So you, not just open door.
Open door may not just be a sign
but open door is one of it. But
when you look at the open door
and the counsel of wise men and
then the witness of the Spirit,
you know you’re on the right
track. I shared with you all
before, remember the story of
Paul? He was a prisoner on board
a ship, Roman ship, bound for
Rome? And then he told the
centurion, “I perceive that this
voyage will be with much
damage.” But the Bible says, he
told the centurion, the Roman
centurion, “Don’t leave yet. I
perceive.” How does he perceive?
In his spirit. That this voyage
will be with much damage. But
the guy rather listen to his
helmsman. The helmsman, the
Bible says, noticed the wind was
blowing just right and he’s an
experienced helmsman. So he told
the centurion, “Time to go.” You
all know what happened right?
There was a storm. Unexpected
storm called Euroclydon and
smashed against the ship and
they were all depressed. And for
days and days, they never saw
the sun. It was blocked. And
then the Bible tells us that
Paul stood up and says, “Guys,
you all should have listened to
me.” I love it. “Guys, you all
should have listened to me.
Nonetheless, take courage, God
has shown me that we’ll not be
killed. We’ll be marooned on an
island which is called Malta.”
Which means ‘honey’. A picture
of land of milk and honey. When
you follow the Lord, you can
either reach there peacefully or
you can go there by planks.
Finally, you know, they went
there, the storm broke against
the ship that was stuck between
a rock and then smashed the back
and they all went on planks and
all that. But all the while Paul
says, “I perceive that this
voyage will be with much
damage.” Years ago, how many of
you like to have a vision from
the Lord? Or a vision coming up
and you see things, right? You
all like that, right? But don’t
look for it, Amen? If you look
for a vision, the devil can
deceive you. But ask God for,
number one, ask God for wisdom,
always ask God for wisdom. Then
consult your leaders around you,
and how they feel. They also
have the Holy Spirit in them,
not just you. Consult them, make
sure they are counsellors, these
are counsellors, not just
friends, Amen? Because there’s a
good thing and there’s a
God-thing. Don’t just do a good
thing. The good is the enemy of
the God-thing. Many a time, you
settle for less. So after that,
ask God for wisdom, seek counsel
and then listen to the Spirit.
Take an action. You feel like
this is the right action, you’ll
never be really sure. I’m not
too sure, take the action, Amen?
As you take the action, you’ll
sense in your spirit that the
peace is affected or not. And if
you’ve done that, then God may
give you a vision. But again,
you don’t look for it. God may
give you a vision. Like what
Paul did. Paul went out to
preach the gospel. He asked God
for wisdom, he went out to
preach the gospel, he has his
friends around him, Amen? He
always went with someone. And
then not only that, he listened
to the Spirit. The Spirit says,
“Don’t preach to Asia Minor at
this time.” Then a vision
happened to Macedonia. Pastor
shared how he flowed in the
Spirit to help an old man have
his meal. Years ago, and I’ll
close with this. Years ago, as I
was learning these things, I was
already a pastor then but God
was bringing me deeper in some
of these things. And I was
asking God to teach me to move
more in the Spirit. And to, you
know, more for ministry. But the
Lord taught me how to flow with
Him. I remember one night, and
the World Cup was on, I still
remember. And this was years ago
and the World Cup was on and I
had a meeting, I think a
leaders’ meeting in the office
and it went quite some time,
past midnight and the World Cup
was in place where you can watch
it at midnight, just like the
recent one. So I was kind of
like going a bit fast. If there
are ‘TP’ here, right, I was
going fast but I think I was
still in the speed limit. Ok. I
was like, you know, it was my
favourite team playing, I was
rushing back on the expressway.
And all of a sudden, when I
zoomed past, I saw someone
climbing over the central
divider, alright, and it was an
older man. So I just went
straight, nobody was there, so
it was late at night, about one
o’clock, one plus, zoom and you
know, I saw the old man climbing
over the central divider,
alright and I just went
straight. As I went straight,
the peace was affected. The
Bible says follow after love and
desire spiritual gifts. It could
have said, “Be loving.” Doesn’t
say that. It says follow after
love, as if love is a person.
Follow after love. The Holy
Spirit will lead you with the
peace and also with His love.
When you have compassion for
someone, text them, Amen? You
have compassion for somebody, or
even at the workplace, cleaners
in the food court, they’re
cleaning. One person just like
sort of, like you feel
compassion for the person, give
her some money, you know? I
mean, and tell her, “Yah-sor ai
ni.” That’s all you need to do.
I guarantee you, next time you
go back there, your table is the
first one they’ll clean. But we
are not looking for that, we’re
not looking for that, we’re
looking to be a blessing. A
little kindness goes a long way.
Follow after love. When there’s
love for someone, stop and say,
I gotta talk to this child, I
gotta bless this person, I gotta
text this person, I gotta say
something that God’s favour is
shining on you today, or
something like that. Follow the
love. So anyway, I was driving
and it was quite some distance
away. I was arguing with that
peace. And I felt so much love
for that old man, I don’t know
why, ok and I just stopped at
the side of the road. Now I
don’t recommend this, ok, but
it’s just a unique situation,
there was not many cars on the
road, one plus. I had to stop at
the shoulder because he was
crossing, right, way back there.
So I was sort of like look
behind and just reverse near the
shoulder all the way until I saw
him. So I stopped, and I went to
him. And later on I found out
he’s a Javanese, alright, based
here in Singapore. An elderly
guy, probably in his early 80s.
And I said, “Can I help you?”
You know? By the way, he was
still at the central divider, I
had to bring him across to the
other side. I said, “Can I help
you?” He says, he was speaking
to me in Malay. And I didn’t
understand, he was saying that,
“I just look, I want to eat,” he
says, “I’m looking for a place
to eat.” I said, “Very hard to
find a place to eat here, this
kind of place.” I said that,
“Where is your house?” “Oh, it’s
down there, but nobody at home.”
You know? I said, “Oh man, what
do I do now?” Just bring him to
eat lah. “Why not I just bring
you to eat?” “No, no, I’m
looking for that place.” He
mentioned a place that I don’t
understand, you know? And he
says, “I eat there. Sometimes I
eat there. I’m looking for that
place.” I said, “What place? You
tell me. I bring you somewhere,
ok, uncle? I bring you somewhere
to eat.” “No, no, I want to go
to that place. I don’t want to
go anywhere. I just want to go
to that place.” You know? So I
said, “Never mind, you come to
my car first.” So he went to my
car and I said, “Lord, what do I
do?” So I obeyed, I followed
after love, I obeyed the peace
or at that point the lack of it,
Amen? And then, now what’s left?
What do I do Lord? I’m telling,
just like that, just like that,
don’t look for it, I didn’t look
for it, I didn’t expect it, but
the vision came up. And the
vision was a food court, a
hawker centre in Singapore. And
later on I found out it’s called
ABC Centre, where you lived, you
know, down there. And I saw the
ABC Centre, and I saw it, I saw
it. I’ve been there before. I
said, “Hey, is it the ABC
Centre?” “No.” (Pastor speaks in
Malay “Bukan, itu ada..”). Then
he described to me. I said, “Oh
boy, I thought it was God.” I
was excited, you know? “So never
mind, I bring you to eat, ok? I
bring you to eat.” Then I drove
all the way, found a U-turn
somewhere and went all the way
to the ABC Centre in Alexandra
Road, you know? I went all the
way there, then when I came down
there, he said, “Ini, ini, ini,
ini.” “This place? This place?”
He says, “Yah, yah.” You know?
So I brought him, then
straightaway there’s a Malay
shop with a teh tarik guy down
there. The guy says, “Eh!”
Called his name. And I brought
him down there, sat down there,
then he was greeting like an old
friend. And they said that,
“Wah, this guy very pitiful, you
know.” That guy told me that,
the hawker told me this. He said
that, “Poor guy.” He said that,
“Many a times er, his son just
abandon him at home. He doesn’t
eat, you know. Only come here at
weekends.” And that wasn’t a
weekend by the way. Said that,
“Terrible uh.” For me, I was
like in a daze. I was like, you
see I was asking the Lord to
teach me more about obeying His
voice. Actually all these things
is obeying the voice of God. And
this is what He led me to. He
led me to, first of all, ask Him
for wisdom. So I asked God for
wisdom to know how to be led by
His Spirit, for Him to teach me,
to profit. Ask for wisdom to
profit in every area of my life.
Ask God for wisdom, Amen, to
know His voice. Ask God for
wisdom. Actually to know His
voice is a redundant statement,
you know? A baby knows the
mother’s voice even though
there’s a group of ladies down
there. A baby can even tell. “My
sheep hear My voice.” He didn’t
say, “My sheep learn to hear My
voice.” So take it for granted,
you’re a child of God, you know
His voice. Your confession of
faith should be, “I know Jesus’
voice, I hear His voice.” Amen?
But being led, I ask God to
teach me more, to be more
sensitive. Nothing wrong with
God’s part, it’s my part. So I
said, “Teach me.” So ask God for
wisdom. Number two, get
counsellors around you, Amen?
Discuss with them, people you
trust. And number three, even
while they are discussing you
can sense your spirit. And take
the first action. Don’t just
say, “I’ll sit down there, I’ve
been sitting for six months,
still I do not know is it ‘A’
job or ‘B’ job. Which job to go
for?” You know? ‘A’ university
or this university? Of course,
university has a time limit but
you know? No, no. Just go on
this step: ok, I’m going for
‘A’. Lord, I’ve asked you for
wisdom, everything seems to
point to this direction. If I’m
wrong, tell me, Lord. And as you
plan and you go on, if there’s a
lack of peace or there’s an
increase of peace, you know
you’re on the right track. And
if need be, after all those
things are done, then if God
needs to give you a vision He
will give you a vision. But
don’t look for a vision first.
Never. When I said vision, I
don’t mean like vision outside,
you know, alright? But I’m
talking about vision on the
inside. Many a time, God gives a
vision that seems to float from
the inside, alright, to your
mind’s eye, you can see it. Many
a time, the gifts of the Spirit
the same thing as well for me,
ok? Have you all learned
something? There’s so many areas
to cover but I pray that I’ve
said what the Lord wants me to
say, Amen. Give Jesus the
praise, the glory and the
honour, hallelujah. Amen, Amen.
Stand to your feet. Real quick,
I just wanna pray for those of
you, you said that I want Jesus
to be my Saviour and Lord, I
believe Christ is the only one
that can bring full salvation
into my life. I’m lost and I
need Jesus. And I want to be
filled with the Holy Spirit and
I want the Spirit of God to lead
me and guide me. Well, the only
way that Jesus can fill us with
the Holy Spirit is for us to be
born again. We need to be saved.
You need to be born again. Those
who are born once only, die
twice. There is a death to come
in the lake of fire, the Bible
tells us. But those who are born
twice, born into this world
naturally and born spiritually
may only die once. Amen? The
wages of sin is death but the
gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
If that is you, pray this prayer
with me right now. Say,
“Heavenly Father, I believe
Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
And I believe He died on the
Cross for my sins, was judged in
my place so that I’ll never be
condemned for all my sins. The
blood He shed, through that
blood, all my sins, past,
present and future are forgiven,
remitted. Thank you, Father,
that You raised Jesus from the
dead when all my sins were all
put away. Thank you, Father.
Jesus Christ is my Lord and
Saviour. In Jesus’ name.” And
all the people said? Amen, Amen,
Amen. Praise the Lord. Lift your
hands all across this place.
This coming week, Father in
heaven, I ask that You’ll teach
Your people. I ask Father, in
Jesus’ name, that You will hone,
Lord, their skills and make them
more sensitive, Lord, to the
wonderful Holy Spirit on the
inside of them. Father, even in
their marriage, in their
parenting, in their social
relationships, in their work, in
every area, lead them to profit.
Cause them, Lord, to prosper.
Grant them good success. And
Father, I thank you, Lord, I
pray that everyone here under
the sound of my voice will be a
trophy of Your grace. That
people will look at them and
say, “I want what they have.
They live naturally but such a
supernatural touch on their
lives.” Let this be the
testimony, Father, of everyone
under the sound of my voice. And
Father in heaven, protect every
single one and their families
from harm, danger and from all
evil throughout this week. In
Jesus’ name. And all the people
said? Amen. God bless you. We’ll
see you again. Thank you. I
hope you enjoy today’s episode,
but don’t go just yet. If you’d
like to receive prayer, share
your testimony, or find out more
about gospel partner, just click
the link on this screen. If not,
I’ll see you in the next
episode.
Together with everything that appears to be developing inside this subject matter, many of your points of view happen to be quite radical. Even so, I appologize, because I can not give credence to your whole theory, all be it refreshing none the less. It seems to everybody that your remarks are not totally justified and in actuality you are yourself not totally convinced of your argument. In any event I did take pleasure in examining it.