In this Gospel Partner episode, discover why God created the principle of the Sabbath and how important it is for your health and wellbeing that you start to slow down! 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/3pQ3Di3
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#gospelpartner #josephprince #2023sermon
Have you been there?
You’re on holiday,
but you’re not on holiday.
Your mind is not
on holiday.
You know, it takes
a long time for
your mind to calm down
because you’re
so used to,
you’re addicted to busyness!
I’m going to give you a
word from the Lord:
I just had this rising up:
‘Kill hurry before hurry kills you.’
What is God telling the people,
when He says: “Keep the Sabbath.”
He’s telling them to rest!
Something happens to
us physically when
we learn to slow down
one day out of seven.
Do what’s restful for you.
Many a times,
screen time is not restful.
You can be busy but inside,
you are at peace.
Your body will thank you,
your mind will thank you,
and your heart will thank you.
“Praise the Lord! Good to see all
of you at church. We have quite a
number of testimonies to share
with you. So, are you ready for
the good news? Praise the Lord!
All right. So, the first
testimony comes to us from a
sister from Singapore. And she
writes that, ‘I’m a Singaporean,
living in England for the past 25
years. Some years ago, I went
through a divorce. During that
period, my brother, who’s living
in Australia, would download
Pastor Prince’s sermons and send
them to me on USB sticks. Right,
some of us don’t have, I used to
use the USB drive or USB sticks,
right?’ So, listening to Pastor
Prince speak about God’s grace
and favour gave me hope. The Lord
sent help and brought people into
my life and the lives of my
children. It was because of God’s
faithfulness and love for me that
I was able to raise my children
here in England. A few years
back, I was diagnosed with a
brain tumour. I was transferred
to the nearest hospital that had
a neurology department. I felt
cold, afraid, alone, sad, and
confused. I missed my children
and wondered if I would ever see
them again. I was deeply
discouraged and absolutely
terrified. The doctor saw me
immediately, and I was told that
I needed emergency surgery. I was
also informed that I could lose
the vision in my right eye during
the surgery. On the day before my
surgery, I was woken up by a
hospital worker. We got chatting,
and she told me that she was from
overseas. She asked me if I would
like to watch TV. I politely said
yes but only really wanted to go
back to sleep. So she was very
polite, but she actually wanted
to go back to sleep. I closed my
eyes, but I could hear her
talking to me, telling me that
none of the channels were working
except for one. Guess which one?
With my eyes shut, I heard a
voice coming from the TV, a voice
I had heard many, many times over
the years, that I was so familiar
with. It was Pastor Prince
speaking on my hospital TV. I
opened my eyes stunned, and the
lady said to me, ‘You should
listen to this man preach. My
daughter listens to him all the
time. God healed her from stomach
cancer. Have you heard of this
preacher?’ I laughed and said,
‘Yes,’ and told her that this
preacher is from the same country
that I come from. Hearing Pastor
Prince’s voice, seeing his face
on TV, and hearing a woman from
overseas speak about him just
made my day. It gave me hope
again. I knew then that the Lord
had not forgotten me and He was
with me. And as He’s always done,
He sent people into my life to
aid me and to give me courage. I
went for my surgery the next day,
and it was very successful. And
now I live to tell of His
goodness with perfect vision in
my right eye. What a beautiful
and glorious testimony. Praise
the Lord and this is those
encouraged as you heard Pastor
from a distance, praise the Lord,
hallelujah.” “All right, and for
those of you who were in church
last week or even attended the
online service, you will know
that Pastor Prince ministered,
right? We have a strong healing
anointing last Sunday, and we
heard many of you share your
testimonies live here at the
church service. And the
testimonies have all come in. And
today we’re going to share with
you four of these testimonies.
The first one comes to us from a
sister from Singapore. She writes
that, ‘I had been experiencing
shoulder pain for a very long
time. Despite taking oral
medication and using medicated
plasters—go ahead, right, for
those of us who do use
that—nothing helped. On Sunday,
the 25th of June, I tuned in to
New Creation Online. Those of you
watching online, say Hallelujah.
Praise the Lord. Those are those
of you here because you’re not
watching online. Okay, when
Pastor Prince asked those who had
pain in their bodies to place
their hands on the afflicted
area, I immediately crossed my
arms and rested them on my
shoulders and rested my hands on
the shoulders. Then, as Pastor
Prince prayed for the condition,
I stood in faith and believed
that all the symptoms that I was
experiencing were lies from the
enemy. I took authority and
confessed that I have perfect
health because of Jesus’s
finished work on the cross. Even
though I was seated in front of
my TV, I could feel my body
trembling. After that, the pain
in my shoulders completely
disappeared. Thank you, God. And
thank you, Pastor Prince. Praise
the Lord. Praise the Lord! Thy
sister received healing while
watching online in front of a TV.
You can receive healing even as
you’re watching online. Amen.
Praise the Lord. But for those of
you who came, you’re not
shortchanged, because you get to
experience the anointing of the
Lord in this corporate anointing.
Praise God.'” “Next, another
testimony comes to us from a
sister also from Singapore. And
she writes that, ‘I experienced a
slipped disc several months ago,
and although I have since
recovered, I remain cautious
about making sudden movements
that could strain my lower back.
Whenever I feel a slight dull
pain in that area, I become
anxious, feeling or fearing a
relapse of my slip disc. On
Saturday, the 24th of June, I
started experiencing adult pain
in my lower back. The next day
during the church service, Pastor
Prince encouraged the
congregation to place their hands
on any part of their bodies that
had pain. Without hesitation, I
put my hand on my lower back
where the pain was. After Pastor
Prince rebuked the pain and
prayed over it, I decided to step
out in faith and move my body in
ways that would typically cause
pain. Miraculously, I did not
experience any pain throughout
the entire day on Sunday. The
pain was completely gone. Praise
the Lord, hallelujah!” “Next
testimony is also from a sister
from Singapore. She writes that,
’12 years ago, the Lord delivered
me from stage four cancer after
going through multiple sessions
of chemotherapy, which left me
with unexplained chronic fatigue,
even years after the treatment
had ended. The fatigue I
experienced for the past 12 years
caused me a lot of physical and
mental distress. I was not able
to carry out my daily duties or
care for my children and family
without experiencing extreme
tiredness that does not go away
with sleep or rest. So sad. There
were many times when I sat at a
bus stop or bench with my young
children afraid if I would be
able to make it home with them
given the extreme fatigue I was
experiencing. My doctor had no
explanation for it and told me
that I should just be glad that
I’m still alive. While very, very
comforting. However, being under
Pastor Prince’s ministry has
taught me otherwise. I’m not
willing to settle for just being
alive and that because of Jesus’s
finished work at the cross, I
shall be able to experience
complete restoration in my body.
That is faith speaking, Amen.
I’ve been waiting for my chronic
fatigue condition to be called
out each time Pastor Prince led
the congregation with anointed
healing sessions. I want to
receive instant and total healing
for the pain in my right knee.
So, during one of those sessions,
I strongly believe that I shall
be able to experience the same
for my issue of chronic fatigue
as well. Finally, on Sunday, the
25th of June, Pastor Prince
called out the condition of
chronic fatigue. I knew that it
was for me and trusted God that I
shall be healed from this
long-term affliction. It has been
close to a week now, and I’ve
never been able to accomplish as
much as I can now in a day for
the last 12 years without
experiencing symptoms of fatigue.
What a typical person could do in
a day, I could achieve as well
and, in fact, much more. I’m
thankful for what the Lord has
done for me. Indeed, those who
trust in the Lord shall never be
put to shame. Thank you, Pastor
Prince, for these anointed
healing sessions and constantly
reminding us of our true
inheritance in Christ. God bless
you and our church. Praise the
Lord for His wonderful testimony.
And those of you suffering from
chronic fatigue, wake up!
Hallelujah! Praise Hello, whoa.”
“Alright, the last testimony
comes to us from a sister from
Singapore. On Saturday, the 24th
of June, my dad experienced a
sudden acute pain in his chest.
Since it was late at night, he
refused to go to the hospital and
thought that he would get better
after resting. I prayed for my
dad, but I was worried and unable
to sleep. So, I listened to the
audio of Pastor Prince’s healing
scriptures to fall asleep. The
following day, I attended the
first service at New Creation
Church, just like all of you
here. That day, Pastor Prince
ministered healing and the first
condition he called out and
prayed for was chest pain and
clearance of artery blockages. In
my spirit, I knew that God had
orchestrated this for my dad, and
I immediately received the
healing for him after the
service. When I returned home, my
family told me that my dad had
gone to the emergency unit in the
morning as the chest pain had
worsened. He was admitted for
further tests, and I was very
worried. But I knew and believed
that my dad was completely
healed. I watched the Church
Online Service after that, or I
suppose you went to attend in
person and then watched online
after that, wow. I claimed
healing for my dad and partook of
the Holy Communion. That evening,
when I visited my dad in the
hospital, he looked very lively
compared to the previous day. He
told me that his chest pain had
subsided, and there was almost no
pain. The doctor said that the
examinations and blood tests
revealed no signs of a heart
attack or artery blockage, and
his heart was very healthy.
Hallelujah! The following day,
the doctor discharged my dad as
they could not find any issues
with his heart and could not
determine the cause of his chest
pain. I truly believe that God
has completely healed my dad when
Pastor Prince prayed for this
condition during the service.
Praise the Lord! Thank You,
Jesus, for healing my Dad. Thank
you, Pastor Prince, for being the
Holy Spirit ministering His
healing and preaching the True
Word of God. Praise the Lord,
church, for all these awesome,
awesome testimonies. Right now,
are you ready for the preaching
of the Word? Let us welcome
Pastor Prince!”
We gotta watch out for this
spirit of consumerism. The new
god of the modern world is
consumerism. Online, we gotta
consume, gotta consume, gotta
consume. Why are you not here in
church today? I’m busy shopping
online. Consumerism, everything
is consumerism, amen. And the
whole idea of making you addicted
to social media, to give you that
buzz and all that, is so that
advertisers can promote the
spirit of consumerism, all right,
and get you hooked, amen. You
know, studies–and these are
proven studies, all right,
authentic, proper studies done.
More than one study have shown
that it has the same effect–
social media has the same effect
as gambling. When once in awhile
you get the, “Wow!” You know,
you’re so happy, you know? You
got that prize or whatever, that
lucky number came in, but you do
not know how much money you spent
to get only a small portion back.
But the same thing for social
media. You get the like. You get
the feedback. You put out the
post and you see how many people
like it. You look at how
many–that gives you a buzz,
amen. It releases your endorphin,
the feel-good chemical in your
body. Every time you get a–the
comment, wow, endorphin. And then
it makes you come back again, the
same as gambling.
“Preach it,
Pastor Prince! Preach it!” Amen?
Yeah, I understand. Look,
endorphins are not bad. God put
the chemicals there, right? But
too much endorphin being released
makes you addicted. You want
more, and more, and more, and
more. And they know they got you.
They are after your children. Get
them young and they will be fixed
for life. They’ll be addicted. So
the spirit of consumerism.
“Pastor, what’s your sermon
again?”
So we have forgotten to
be thankful, amen? Like a mother
one time, back in those days when
they used to write letters, the
mother received a letter from her
daughter who was abroad in the
university.
The family looked at
her. She was reading the letter
and she saw that her face was
shocked as she read this letter
from her daughter saying that,
“Mother, are you seated? Can you
just sit down as I share with you
this. I’m pregnant. Didn’t mean
to. It just happened. And I have
also decided, my boyfriend and I,
that I will stop studies. He will
go to work. P.S., none of the
above is true. I just failed my
science.” All of a sudden it’s
okay you failed science, you
know? I’m summarizing something
that happened– The whole thing
is perspective. Perspective helps
you to be grateful. Like I said,
you know, we live in a
society–and I’m not just
referring to our country, I’m
referring to all countries
actually now–that you deserve
it. You are worth it. So when you
don’t get what you deserve or you
see other people getting what you
think you deserve, you get very
jealous. You get very angry. You
get very resentful, all right?
That’s what FOMO does also. You
know, FOMO. You look at other
people having fun and all that.
Number one, how come I wasn’t
invited? How come I wasn’t there
and all that? In the first place,
you’re not supposed to get so
much information. You’re supposed
to live life wonderfully, amen?
Life is more than just
consume–if you are addicted to
consumerism, something is wrong,
you know? You’re addict–it’s
still an addiction. See, we’re
all made to worship. In
worshipping the true God, we are
free from every bondage, amen.
But when you are not worshipping
the true God, you are a slave and
a bondage to anything that comes
along. Like they say, if you
don’t believe in God, you’ll
believe–you’ll fall for
anything, amen. ‘Cause God is the
true one that sets you free
because He created you free. If
He wants you in bondage, all
right, He won’t create you free.
Can I have a good amen? So the
mother who received that one,
right, all of a sudden– If you
had just written a letter, “I
failed my science,” right? So the
daughter knows how to put things
in perspective, and all of a
sudden you are grateful, amen?
You are grateful. You ever had a
dream that you committed a crime?
And the dream is so real. You
lost your family, you lost your
children, and you are doing time
in prison. It’s so real. Ever?
And you think to yourself, “I’ll
never go to church again.” And
it’s many years I’m in prison
now, and it felt so real, then
you wake up. And then,
“Hallelujah!” amen? You feel
grateful? Maybe the dream is from
God. Or you find yourself doing
something immoral, lying,
cheating, whatever it is. Then
you wake up and you realize you
didn’t do it. Do you realize why
God wants you to be moral? There
should be moral power in your
life. You see, there was a time
people looked up to leaders with
moral power, with beauty like
Jesus, the beauty of–the moral
beauty and excellence of our Lord
Jesus. They looked for leaders
who were honest not only when
people are looking, not
people-pleaser, people with
convictions, strong men. We still
need strong men today. We need
men to be men. And then one more
principle, and this is the thing
that I feel like we are missing
out again, and that’s why I tried
to demonstrate that this year. It
so happens this is my sabbatical
year. And I had other sabbatical
years. “When you say sabbatical
year, what do you mean, Pastor
Prince?” That every seventh year
is your sabbatical year in the
Bible, all right? For the farmer,
it’s the year where they don’t
actually toil the ground, and
plant, and all that. God says,
“I’ll give you enough blessing on
the sixth year, it will last for
three years.” But instead still,
people, you know, the Israelis,
would just go out there and still
plant, and still do all that kind
of thing. They disobeyed God, and
God promised. In fact, not just
God says, “I’ll give you
blessings,” God says, “I’ll
command my blessing upon your
crop.” It will bring forth crop
for three years. It will–you eat
whatever is growing by itself.
And God has promised to bless the
land if they rest in the seventh
year. So my seventh year of
ministry, I didn’t do it. Seventh
year, I didn’t do it. Many years,
I didn’t do it. I tell myself,
“Young,” you know? “Just do it,
the church is growing,” and all
that. Finally, the seventh cycle
happened again this year and my
pastors are the one that told me,
“Pastor, go for it,” okay? Israel
did not observe the seventh year.
See what happened in 2 Chronicles
36. It says, “Those who escaped
from the sword.” So
Nebuchadnezzar came with all the
Babylonian’s armies, all right,
destroyed Jerusalem. They burnt
down the temple. That’s the
Temple of Solomon, by the way.
They burnt it down. They took all
the gold and silver and destroyed
all the other vessels, all right?
And those who remained, those who
were not killed, the Bible says,
“Those who escaped from the sword
he,” Nebuchadnezzar, “carried
away to Babylon, where they
became servants to him and his
sons until the rule of the
kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the
word of the LORD by the mouth of
Jeremiah, until the land had
enjoyed her Sabbaths.” As long as
she lay desolate she kept
Sabbath, to fulfill seventy
years.” In other words, all the
Sabbath debt that was not paid.
When you think about it, what is
God telling the farmer? “I want
you to rest the whole year.” On
the seventh year of your
ministry, or career, or whatever
for us today, God says, “Rest,
this is your sabbatical year.”
You know what I’m saying? For us,
that’s how we apply it. But is it
important to God? See how
important it is? The whole nation
went into bondage because they
didn’t observe Sabbath. Not just
that, they committed idolatry.
But actually, Sabbath–not
keeping the Sabbath, for them was
the reason why– the main reason
why they went into idolatry. When
you don’t have enough rest–in
fact, when you are restless and
you are not restful, that’s the
time you are more susceptible to
temptation. Whether it’s to
pornography, whether it’s to
overeating or drinking, problems
with drinking alcohol and all
that, all this happens when a
person is tired, when a person is
spent. Many pastors gotta watch
it after they preach a sermon,
all right? That’s the time they
are most vulnerable. They think,
“Praise God, man. You know, God
preached through me today. I
mean, the Holy Spirit preached
through me today. I felt the
anointing, hallelujah.” You gotta
be careful after that. Find a
place to give God the praise and
the glory, all right? Kneel down,
give God all the praise, and the
glory, and all the honor. Very
quickly, if you’re wondering why
I go toilet, it’s not always for
the reason for going toilet. My
toilet here, one of the things I
do is that, inside there–these
are things very personal I don’t
like to share, but I kneel down
and I raise my hands, and I give
Him who deserves it all the
worship and the praise because He
is the one that released the
Word. He is the one that healed
the people. He is the one that
blessed. He is the one that
provided the anointing. He is the
one, and I get to preach for Him.
Therefore, none–I don’t take one
inch, one pinch of the glory. But
I don’t know why it helps me to
just kneel down, okay? Lock the
door, people think I’m doing my
business, amen. It’s the greatest
business, my Father’s business,
amen? Give Him all the praise,
all the glory, all the honor,
amen? It
helps, you know, your
perspective on life when you
realize that everything you do is
not for me, my money, more money,
more money. It’s for me, and my
family, and me. More money, more
money, me and my family, and more
money, more money. Don’t live
life like that. Life is more than
that. Life is about kairos
moments with the Lord, kairos
moments with your loved ones. If
you have young kids, they grow up
very fast. Very, very fast. You
don’t enjoy the moment, the now,
now is the kairos time. The Bible
says, literally in the Greek,
“Now is the favored time.” It’s
the kairos time, the accepted
time. Enjoy now. And all the
people said? Are you with me so
far? Amen. So we’ve forgotten
Sabbath. We don’t honor the Lord
anymore. We don’t go to church.
There was a time–the Puritans,
by the way, who founded America,
all right, the Puritans came on
Mayflower boat and majority of
them are Puritans, Christians,
amen? And the primary reason why
they left England then, because
England was no more observing a
day of rest, Sabbath, no more a
day of rest. That was the primary
beef they had against England.
And England is no more observing
it, so they want to go to a land
where they can observe it, amen.
America was–America was founded
on these beliefs. And for many
years until the 1960s, America
actually shut down their
businesses. And one guy
actually–an author actually said
that he was a young boy in the
1960s when he looked at New York
City and it was deserted. When he
grew older, he said that he saw
the same scene only after 9/11.
And for us, of course, COVID. But
he says that during that time,
it’s deserted, why? Families are
all in church. In fact, they have
something called blue laws in
America where they actually made
it compulsory for businesses to
shut down until the 1960s. It was
eased and then erased later on,
but look at the result: the
spike, the raise, the number of
people with heart troubles and
all that kind of thing.
Many
years ago, there was a guy called
Friedman, all right? Doctor–he’s
a cardiologist. He and his
partner, Rosenman, both of them,
Friedman and Rosenman, what do
you think they are? Jews, very
good, Jewish cardiologists. He
discovered this. If you ever hear
the term “Type-A personality,”
you know what’s type-A
personality? All right, it’s a
personality where you are very
competitive, result-oriented. You
are motivated by a hurry
sickness. You rush, rush, rush,
and you are very short-tempered.
You are very irritable, amen? You
don’t care for people wasting
time. You never want to waste
time. You are hyper. You are very
competitive. Sounds like
Singaporeans. That’s type-A
personality. He was the one that
coined it. He and his partner
coined that phrase. You know why?
Because one day–he’s a
cardiologist, practicing one in
this clinic, and what happened
is–this was probably during the
’40s or ’50s. And what happened
is that his waiting room, the
chairs was–it was time for them
to upholster the chairs. And the
guy in charge of all the
stairs–chairs and all that, they
came to collect it, and this man
remarked to Mr. Friedman. He says
that, “I noticed something about
your chairs, Doctor. They are all
frazzled and worn out at the
edge.” It’s all worn out at the
edge. Not at the back, at the
edge where your thigh is. That
means what? People are sitting on
the edge, holding their chair. So
at first it meant nothing to him,
but then he observed quite a
number of chairs of his patients
who have heart problems. They
have–they sit on the edge. Now
all of you pull back, ha ha. And
then when he looked out the
window–and in those days, right,
it’s on the ground floor and all
that. I mean, America is large
and their–you know, their car
park is all out there. He looked
at his patients’ cars besides his
medical staff’s. His medical
staff all, all right, can park
nose in, but all his patients
park nose out for a quick
getaway. He cannot afford to
waste time. No Singaporean does
this. So in other words, you park
reverse. You are ready to go. You
know what I’m saying? In
Singapore, right, I know one
thing. If it’s red light, you
wait for the green light, you
better be alert and ready because
if the red light turns green
light, you don’t move fast, the
guy behind turn red. That is a
formula I have learnt. You only
have about three seconds. Only
three seconds. Move fast, all
right? You cannot afford to
breathe. You cannot afford
to–look at it carefully, then
move. Now they even have–their
eyes, they can see, right,
sideways, slanted. They got a
slated eye because they look at
the other side, whether it’s red,
how fast it turns green. They are
counting. They’re not happy. In
some modern countries, they let
you know to calm you down, all
right? So recently, a dear
brother shared with me about
someone he loves who has passed
on because of heart attack, but
this dear brother was telling me
that the entire family would
never expect this man to pass on
with heart attack. Because why?
He eats care–he’s very careful
about what he eats. He eats
healthily. He has low
cholesterol. Never admitted to
hospital. He’s very healthy. The
last person the family and all
the relatives thought would pass
on would be him. He exercises
every day. He’s fanatical about
fitness, but died of heart attack
just like that. But one thing
this brother shared with me and
all the families all agreed is
this: he has this. He cannot even
wait for the lift to come down.
Profan–you know, words come out
that are terrible. He’s very
irritable. He’s always hurrying.
He’s very bad-tempered. And this
came from the members of the
family, but they are glad he got
saved. And that brought me back
to this type-A temperament.
Type-A temperament are people who
are like that. Very competitive,
result-oriented, very hurried,
very irritable.
They see slowing
down as a weakness. But actually,
I like what the U.S. Marines say.
You know, they have this saying,
“Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
Fast is deadly.”
Slow is smooth,
smooth is fast. So I tell Justin,
you see, don’t rush. Have you
noticed your kids, they rush
really fast? It’s because they
play games a lot compared to us
and their games require speed, so
they bring that into their
studies, all right, and they make
careless mistakes. They know the
answer, but they make–why? Too
fast. Their–you know, everything
is working fast. So we are
teaching him how to slow down,
and I always tell him, “Slow is
what? Smooth.” You ask him, you
say, “Slow is what?” He will tell
you, “Smooth. Ah yeah, oh yeah,
smooth, yeah.” Slow down to go
fast. Slow down. It’s a Sabbath
principle. Something happens, all
right, to us physically when we
learn to slow down one day out of
seven. Now, for the Jewish
people, it is on Saturday, all
right? For us, the Lord rose on
the Lord’s Day, on Sunday, so
Sabbath for us is on Sunday, but
I’m not just referring to the
physical Sabbath. I’m referring
to spiritual Sabbath. “He that is
entered–” Give them verse 10 of
Hebrews 4. It says that
those–“He that is entered into
God’s rest, he also has ceased
from his own works, as God did
from his.” If you think about it,
even salvation, the greatest
gift, is a finished work. We
enter into His rest actually. We
enter into a finished work.
Christ did everything. He died on
the cross for your sins. He was
raised from the dead. God
accomplished everything. When
Jesus said, “It is finished,”
it’s truly finished. And Jesus
rose on a Sunday. That’s why we
celebrate Sunday to Sunday, the
Lord’s Day. It’s meant to be in
the house of God. “So what,
Pastor Prince? Must I just stay
at home and do nothing? That’s my
Sunday?” No, if you are a
desk-bound kind of job, all
right, you have a desk-bound job,
Sunday might actually mean you
walk around in the neighborhood
or whatever, because you– that
for you is restful. Remember the
man at the pool of Bethesda?
Remember the guy? Jesus healed
him on the Sabbath, and it’s
amazing how many people Jesus
healed on the Sabbath. And
Jesus–show ’em that portion,
just a bit of it. Jesus said to
the man after He healed him, when
He healed him, “Rise, take up
your bed and walk.” Now, he’s
been on the bed for a long time,
so you can say that actually if
Sabbath is just resting and doing
nothing, the guy was resting,
doing nothing for 38 years,
right? So Jesus says, “Rise, take
up your bed and walk.” Walking
for him, now he’s healed–he
cannot walk and all. Now he’s
healed.
For him, that’s restful.
So do what’s restful for you. Do
what’s restful for you. “But
Pastor Prince, my restfulness is
watching drama.” Sometimes, you
know, at the end of it, if you
find you are tired, it’s not
restful. Many times screen time
is not restful, hmm? And that has
studies behind it as well. It’s
not restful. You go to sleep
looking at your–at night,
looking at your phone, the blue
light, it’s not gonna help you
rest. You won’t have a sweet
sleep. So, “Immediately,” the
Bible says, “the man was made
well, took up his bed, and
walked. And that day was the
Sabbath.” Why did the Holy Spirit
mention that day was the Sabbath?
Because he was carrying his bed,
which he’s not supposed to,
right, based on their law. That’s
why we’re not under law, but
under grace. “But Sabbath is
under law, Pastor Prince.” It was
mentioned in the law, but it was
there in the beginning. Let’s go
to Genesis chapter 2, verse 2,
and I’ll show it. “On the seventh
day God ended His work.” This was
way before Moses was even an
idea, before Mount Sinai. God
ended His work on the seventh
day. That’s why number seven has
got to do with completion or
perfection. God ended everything,
okay? “Which He had done, and He
rested on the seventh day from
all His work which He had done.
Then God blessed the seventh day
and sanctified it, because in it
He rested from all His work which
God had created and made.” “God
blessed the seventh day and
sanctified it.” Folks, there’s a
Bible interpretation–a law of
Bible interpretation called the
law of first mention, and this is
the first time the word “holy” is
mentioned, in the word
“sanctified.” It’s the same word.
We use “sanctified,” “holy”
differently, right? But in the
Hebrew, it’s the same word,
“kadesh,” or “kadosh.” Kadesh,
like the Holy of Holies is called
Kadesh Ho-Kadashim, right? Okay,
so kadesh. People say, “This is
holiness. That’s holiness.” What
is holiness? Holiness is rest,
because the first mention of
holiness is rest. In other words,
every time you see someone
unholy, it proceeded from a place
of unrest. He’s not working out
of rest. He’s not serving out of
rest. I hope I’m preaching out of
rest, amen. You can do things
outwardly, no one can tell, but
it’s not out of rest. Just like
God made you the–in His image,
and the Bible says, “Know you not
that you are the temple of God?”
You, spirit, soul, and body,
you’re the temple of God. Look at
the temple of God in the Old
Testament, amen? There is the
holy place, there is the Holy of
Holies, and outside is the outer
court. Outer court, you get sun,
natural sun. So the people of the
world are those in the outer
court. They get natural sun,
natural light, whatever science
discovers, all right? And science
will never contradict the Bible.
True science will never
contradict the Bible. In fact,
the Bible is there way, way, way,
way–one scientist, one great
scientist said this, the one who
created the rocket, he actually
said this. He said that, “When we
discovered the truth about–of
this, you know, this discovery
they are looking for in science,
when we found out, we found out
the Bible was there all the
while.” The Bible’s conclusion is
there already. So natural light.
Then we go into the holy place,
the church. The lampstand is
here. No more sunlight, but it’s
light from the lampstand, the
church, where the Word of–the
Holy Spirit dwells. We receive
light the world doesn’t even
know. We see things the world
doesn’t even know, amen. So
theirs is limited, but God in His
mercy does let them have some
light. Like medicine is a product
of that natural light. It’s still
from God, amen. We step into the
Holy of Holies, there’s no more
menorah, no more natural sun.
What is it? Shekinah glory, the
brightest of all light. And like
what Saul says when he was
knocked down from his high horse
on the Road to Damascus, he says,
“I saw a light beyond the sun.”
Can you imagine that? Jesus
appeared to him in a light beyond
the sun. No movie can follow
close, right? A light beyond the
sun. That’s the Holy of Holies.
It’s not dark like you think it
is. When God’s presence is there,
it’s brighter than the sun, okay?
“So what are you saying, Pastor
Prince?” You are made in the
temple–you are the temple of
God, the Bible says, right? So
outer court, window. Look at your
neighbor, outer court. Some got
nice roofs, some no roof,
some–you know? Amen, outer
court, right? This is your outer
court. It’s in touch with the
world out there, okay? Now, you
are not the outer court. Step
inside, you have the soul. Just
like in the holy place there are
three furniture items, all right,
in your soul, also three. What is
it? Your will, your conscience,
right, all that can come out of
your mind, your intuition, okay?
Intuition is tied even closer
because one furniture is very
close to the spirit, which is the
altar of incense. So intuition is
actually in the spirit realm as
well as soul realm. Then you step
deeper, your spirit. This the
world knows nothing of. They do
not even know dead spiritually.
The part of you that when you say
you are born again is that spirit
comes alive. God is a Spirit. God
made you a spirit being. Then God
breathed into you His breath and
you became a living soul. Where
did God breathe into? God made a
man out of clay. That’s your
body. So you are not your body.
You are living in a body. One
day, you leave this house behind.
If Jesus comes, you will still
have a brand new body. The Bible
says glorified body, but you will
still live in a body forever. And
Singaporeans, you can eat in that
body. Just thought you would like
to know that, amen? Jesus ate in
His glorified body, and our
bodies will be like His body, the
Bible says. Are you with me so
far? So in the outer court, they
are slaying, flaying. They were
arranging the animal parts, the
head, the innards, and all that
upon the altar. Very busy. The
priests are all cutting, washing,
cleaning, and praying, and laying
hands, and talking, and very
busy, busy, busy, busy outer
court. But in the holy place,
there’s quietness, but there’s
revelation. The light menorah,
the lampstand, is shining. That’s
your mind. So outwardly you are
busy. You can be busy, but your
mind is enlightened with the Word
of God. But deep down, who you
really are, your spirit, the
source of all activity, the
source of all power, the supply
of–the connection between heaven
and earth is through your spirit.
God doesn’t drop things like
that… God drops things for the
believer through His Spirit and
it goes out, amen? Even when I
lay hands on the sick, God
doesn’t heal people, bang, like
that… He heals people through
the power of the Holy Spirit out.
Always remember this, okay, the
way God made you. So in the Holy
of Holies, you step into the Holy
of Holies, which in those days
only the high priest can go in
once a year, your Holy of Holies
is perfect stillness, quiet. We
are so scared of quietness. We’re
so scared of stillness. It’s a
generation of noise, noise,
noise. When I went to a place of
nature, I was telling my wife and
Justin the other day, I told my
daughter also, I said that I felt
like a country boy–not a country
boy, a city boy going to the
country. Everything is fresh. Air
is so oxygenated. The trees are
luscious, green all around me,
and the water is there. The sound
is beautiful. And I had a cold
turkey reaction. I longed for a
shopping mall. I had to find a
shopping mall. And I’m breathing
fresh air all the time, no smoke,
nothing, no carbon monoxide,
nothing, and I’m not used to it.
I came so close to crawling,
crawling all the way to my rented
car, and then put the exhaust
near my nose, and then switch on
the car and then… I’m revived.
Now I’m normal. That’s what
happens to city folk. It took me
also more than–I was telling
some of the pastors, it took me
more than one week plus in this
beautiful place to quieten down.
‘Cause why? My mind is at, “I
wonder if the pastors handled
this case or not. I wonder if
this has been done or not. I
wonder, do they know how to do
that? I wonder if this has been
done. I wonder if that has been
done. What about this? What about
that? What about this? What about
that?” I gotta stop myself, you
know? I do the Singaporean thing.
While I’m driving, not even
hungry, I just finished my lunch,
I’m thinking, “Better plan for
dinner.” I cannot enjoy the
scenery. I cannot enjoy where I
am because my mind–have you been
there? you’re on holiday but
you’re not on holiday. Your mind
is not on holiday. You know, it
takes a long time for your mind
to calm down because you are so
used– you are addicted to
busyness. I’m gonna give you a
Word from the Lord. I just had
this rising up. Kill hurry before
hurry kills you.
What are you
doing anyway? Who are you making
money for? What’s your purpose?
Yeah, of course. You know when
you’re alone, right? You know,
whenever you want to share
personal things or private
things, right, with your friend
and all that, make sure that
there are no solo people around
you. Because I tell you what, I’m
a solo guy. In every restaurant I
go to, they’re always surprised.
“One? One seat? One person?” One.
You always get the lousiest
places. They put you in one
corner somewhere, right? But I
get a chance to listen to a lot
of things, a lot. I don’t mean
to, but these ears cannot switch
off, leh? If I don’t like what
I’m hearing, sometimes I’ll just
put on my, you know, AirPod, and
just listen to a sermon or
whatever, but I’ve been listening
to sermons in between towns and
all that, driving, driving. I’ve
been listening to a lot of
sermons, so sometimes I just
wanna eat, you know, without
these things, and I can hear a
lot of things. It’s sad. I’ll
tell you this, even holidaymakers
do not know how to. They’re
living their life with this–the
phone. Here I’m enjoying–I’m
reading the history of this place
and all that, and I hear, “Hey,
hey!” I thought, “Oh, these are
people who really love nature,
history, and all that,” praise
God. Like, “Hey, hey, hey!” Next
thing you know… Can you take
this photo for us? And after
that, you know, they’re happy,
all right? It’s like a tick off
on their what to do, and they go
to the next place. They hardly
take time to read what was put
down there. They hardly take time
to admire the structure or
whatever. I’m thinking to myself,
“What has happened to us? Might
as well stay at home, and Google,
and see the photos.” To keep the
photos never to see it again,
most of the time, or not see it
so frequently. When you are
there, enjoy the moment. Now is
the accepted time. I’m bringing
this to a close, okay? “Hurry up,
lah. You’ve been–Yes, I’ve been
waiting for that.”
Because of
you, slow is smooth, smooth is
fast, fast is deadly, bro. This
hurry-sickness is killing people.
So Dr. Friedman came up with
this, type-A temperament. It’s
hard to point out that this
definitely will result. We’re not
saying that, neither is he, but
from there came this type-A
temperament, which I think make a
lot of our workforce. Type-B are
those who are relaxed. They’re
very relaxed. They’re very chill,
amen. “Pastor, if I shut–” you
know, and I think personally you
should focus on Sunday being a
rest day. For us pastors, we work
hard on Sunday, right? So our
Monday is our rest day for most
of us, most pastors, amen. But at
least you should find one day you
rest. And your children should do
no homework during that day. Just
like the Jewish people, they
prepare a tuition, all right?
They prepare. The Bible says even
your animals rest. Read
carefully. Later on, it was put
into the Ten Commandments,
Sabbath. But what is God telling
the people when He says, “Keep
the Sabbath”? He’s telling you,
“Rest.” So that is physical, yes.
What is really spiritual is, “He
that has entered into His rest.”
And the Bible says that–back to
Hebrews 4, bringing this to a
close, “Let us labour therefore
to enter into that rest, lest any
man fall after the same example
of unbelief,” like the children
of Israel in the wilderness. Let
us labour. It’s an oxymoron.
Labour–an oxymoron means a
contradiction of terms, like
“cruel kindness,” amen? “Making
haste slowly,” or something like
that. All right, these are things
that is contraction. “Let us
labour to enter the rest.” You
gotta work at resting, entering
that place of rest. It’s gotta be
inside the Holy of Holies where
everything is quiet, but then
outside is busy. You can be busy,
but inside you are at peace. If
you don’t have that, your outside
is busy, your inside is busy,
your mind is busy. God bless you,
that is the type-A temperament.
Not a good future. So everything
God says, right, in the Bible is
all for our good, amen? Do
nothing, nothing will happen.
Then Jesus says, “Look at the
lily of the field. Look at the
lily. Look at the lily. How–”
look at these three words, “How
they grow.” He didn’t say, “Look
at the lily of the–how beautiful
it looks.” It doesn’t say, “Look
at the lily of the field, all
right? Behold the lily of the
field, how they are arrayed, how
they are clothed.” It doesn’t say
that. It says, “How they grow.”
Even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these.
How they grow. “They toil not,
neither do they spin.” They toil
not, neither do they spin.
“You’re just jealous, Pastor
Prince.” True, but my head is
still big, Lawrence. Okay, so,
“They toil not, neither do they
spin.” They don’t worry.
Basically what the Lord says,
it’s not gym okay? It’s they
don’t worry. Worry is mental
toil. Worry. It took me more than
a week to quieten down here.
Well, I was saying just now,
Sunday is a special day for God’s
people to come together. It’s
there in the New Testament, amen.
And something good happens every
time God’s people come together
on Sunday. They are placed in one
accord, a place–you come
together in one place, in one
accord. Watching online
is–doesn’t really cut it. In
this verse, they’re all together
in one place, in one place, in
one accord, okay? In church,
present. You cannot for some
reason, we understand. That’s why
we have online, all right? But
that’s God’s way. Every Sunday,
from Sunday to Sunday, okay? Some
people say, “You’re just a Sunday
Christian.” Yes, Sunday also.
Yes, amen, enter into rest and
the rest of your week will be
blessed. I believe that. Your
body will thank you. You know, in
the Ten Commandments, read
carefully. No one should work,
“Not even your maids,” is
mentioned there.
You need to do
something about that. “Nor your
animals.” In some places, right,
in America, they don’t collect
their eggs, huh, the chicken.
They let the chicken be, you
know, on the Sabbath, and the
chicken the following day give
better eggs. When you don’t watch
all that, you suffer. Do you
suffer financially in terms of
profitability and all that? No,
Chick-Fil-A–you know Chick-Fil-A
in America? Ever since they
started this many years ago,
they’ve just been growing and
become one of the notable names
in the fast food culture. They
are closed on Sunday. Their staff
are better motivated. They rest,
replenish, and become better
servers. There’s one–I’ll close
with this. “Close, lah. Hurry up,
lah.
I gotta rush, you know, for
my car.” By the way, I choose a
car that’s near, near, near, near
the exit.
What was I saying?
Hurry up! Okay, ha ha ha.
There
is a huge store on Ninth Avenue
in New York City that doesn’t
open on Sunday. It’s the largest
camera–non-chain camera/video
store in the world–second,
second, second largest. The first
one is in–Yodobashi something
in–store in Tokyo. That’s the
largest, but this one is called
B&H Photo Video store. It’s the
largest in America, largest in
the world, second to the one in
Tokyo, and it’s estimated about
9,000 people pass its doors every
day. But on Sunday, they close.
Why? It’s run by Hasidic Jews.
And even online, you can look at
their online on Saturday, but you
cannot buy. No checkout on
Saturday. They close shop at 1
p.m. Friday and close for 24
hours. Hmm. “Well, Pastor, how to
do business.” Ask them, they are
the largest, amen? Again, I
remind you, it’s not the outward
that is so much. But if you can
work towards that, I think it’s
gonna be great to have one day of
rest out of seven. Your body will
thank you. Your mind will thank
you. Your heart will thank you.
And I’m doing my best to hurry up
to bring this to a close. Every
head bowed, every eye closed.
Come on, give Jesus the praise
and the glory. All right, hardly
started my sermon, okay, but I
believe that what the Holy Spirit
wants said has been said. And I
pray right now that as you rest
your mind, rest your heart right
now, take some time, okay, to
just pray this prayer from your
heart, okay? Tell the Lord,
“Father, I so want to enter Your
rest, and I know Your Word says
it’s only by faith. Unbelief will
not do it, so thank You, Father.
I believe that all the work is
finished. I don’t have to worry
about my children. They will turn
out all right. All the work has
been finished. In Your estimation
of time, You have gone ahead,
produced the end result
successfully, prosperously, and
You have come back in my time
zone and said, ‘Have faith.’ So I
enter into Your rest, Lord,
seeing the finished product. I
enter into Your rest, Lord,
concerning my marriage. IT seems
to be dwindling. It seems to be
like we’re always quarreling, but
I see the finished product that
out of this valley will come the
beautiful mountain of intimate
bliss, your prosperity on our
marriage. I see the finished
product. I see this friend that
You have given me for life
becoming my best friend in
marriage. I thank You, Father, I
see the finished product, even
for my career. It might seem like
it’s going downward now, in a
downward spiral. Financially, I’m
struggling, but I thank You I see
the finished product. Just like
You’ve been calling my attention
to the lilies of the field and
the birds of the air, I have
confidence, Father, that You have
supplied for me and I enter into
Your rest. And I receive Your
peace right now.” Tell the Lord,
“I receive Your peace that passes
understanding, in Jesus’ name,
amen.” If you have never made
Jesus your personal Lord and
Savior, pray this prayer with me
right now, okay? Say, “Heavenly
Father, Heavenly Father, I accept
Jesus Christ as my Savior and
Lord. I believe Christ died for
my sins and He was raised from
the dead for my justification.
Jesus Christ is my Lord and my
Savior. Thank You, Father, amen.”
All your sins are forgiven. You
are now a brand new creation.
That spirit has come alive, amen,
in communion with God. Stand to
your feet. Lift your hands all
across this place. The Lord bless
you, all of you, and your
families throughout this week.
The blessing of Father Abraham
rests on you. The Lord bless you
with the blessings of Deuteronomy
28, you and your loved ones. The
Lord make His face to shine on
you, keep you, preserve you,
protect you and your families
from every disease, from every
harm and danger, and from all the
power of the evil one throughout
this week. The Lord lift up His
countenance on you and your loved
ones and grant to you and your
families His shalom wholeness and
peace in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And all the people
said, “Amen.” God bless you.
We’ll see you again.
I hope you enjoyed 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
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